Count Colin Cowherd as one who isn’t buying the hype of Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals.
Cowherd recently took to the airwaves and took issue with a Burrow vs. Baker Mayfield debate that started making the rounds online and fired off these ideas to explain why Burrow won’t meet the hype:
“The idea that a quarterback alone…Joe Burrow’s hype now — the train is off the tracks. Average arm. Bad o-line. Dysfunction in the front office. Worst roster easily in the division. ”
Cowherd did his own season projections for Burrow and landed him on a 4-12 record with 3,300 yards and 19 passing scores and suggested the Bengals will realize how talented he is and try to get him even more help.
There are a few problems, of course. An “average arm” isn’t a great talking point if the player can properly work around it, which Burrow clearly has. The offensive line could at least be better in 2020 after improving down the stretch last season and getting Jonah Williams back at left tackle. Allegations of a dysfunctional front office are a little far-fetched at this point after everyone involved has clearly gone all-in on Zac Taylor’s plan and spent massive amounts of money this offseason to remake the roster to his liking.
Whether Burrow can post better sheer stats than Mayfield might just come down to scheme and circumstance. Both young passers could easily inhibit run-first attacks next year and offenses where their numbers are dictated by just how much weapons can do after the catch.
As of now, there isn’t a big reason to write off Burrow’s level of hype given his college performance, upside and the weapons he’ll have around him as a rookie.
