The Cincinnati Bengals have a different sort of quarterback under center in 2020.
Andy Dalton out, Joe Burrow in — different leadership vibes, different strengths and weaknesses, different feel for a new era.
How different? Some of Burrow’s strengths happen to reside where Dalton struggled the most last season and otherwise.
Take the following from The Athletic’s Sheil Kapadia:
“The two traits that could make Burrow’s transition smooth are his accuracy and his feel in the pocket. Sports Info Solutions marked 87.3 percent of Burrow’s attempts last year as on target; that was the best rate for any quarterback in the last three seasons. And those weren’t dink-and-dunk throws. On throws that traveled at least 10 yards from the line of scrimmage, Burrow was on target 80.3 percent of the time — again, the best mark of any quarterback in the last three seasons.”
Even more impressive? Burrow was on target with 82.8 percent of his attempts while pressured, easily the best mark in the nation.
As Kapadia explains, the average first-round passer plays better than what the Bengals got from Dalton and Ryan Finley last year.
Burrow should too. Dalton was dead last in EPA on throws outside the pocket — Burrow was top in the country at 10.7. So much for those whispers about an “average arm.”
Burrow will undoubtedly have better surroundings than Dalton was afforded over his final two or so seasons in Cincinnati, which will help the rookie shine brighter than the veteran too. So it goes for transitional years as teams undergo massive change.
But it sure doesn’t hurt to look at the numbers supporting the idea Burrow should erase some of the passing attack’s biggest issues right out of the gates.
