Cincinnati Bengals fans have reasonable positive expectations for Joe Burrow going into his sophomore season.
Some analysts aren’t afraid to raise the bar even higher, though.
Take Kay Adams on “Good Morning Football” as she floated Burrow as a sleeper MVP candidate:
“I think he’s a good dark horse. Listen, before his injury last year he showed us he can do some things and if he can in that gauntlet of a division get his team into a playoff contention situation, then I think you have to give him some love as a MVP candidate. He has to be in the conversation. He’s got Ja’Marr Chase. He’s got Tee Higgins. No reason he can’t put up monster numbers this year.”
The Bengals might not be worthy of a lot of attention from the national types, but Burrow is indeed the prototype for a sleeper MVP category. He’s coming back from an injury, is a former No. 1 pick, flashed all that upside despite miserable surroundings last year and those surroundings have been improved — never mind his natural developmental upswing.
So while some might scoff at the idea, there’s certainly reason to throw out a second-year passer on an improving team as a sleeper for some individual awards.
