Get ready to hear a whole lot about Joe Burrow vs. Trevor Lawrence over the next year and beyond.
Burrow was the No. 1 pick for the Cincinnati Bengals this year and has bigger concerns on his hands. So does Lawrence as he gets ready to lead Clemson again while seeking out top draft positioning of his own.
But that won’t stop onlookers from making comparisons.
ESPN and Pro Football Focus recently did just that, with Mike Renner weighing in with the final verdict between the two elite prospects:
“It was a hotly contested debate for the top spot, as Burrow reached a height as a passer we’ve never seen before at the collegiate level. The age ultimately was the deciding factor—Lawrence lighting up college football at 19 and 20 years old is different than Burrow doing it at 22 and 23.”
Lawrence has had a strong two seasons in his own right and — pending delays/cancellations — figures to stay right on track as he heads toward being the next No. 1 pick.
But it makes sense age would really be a major deciding factor in a comparison. Even the writeup goes on to mention that Burrow remains “…the best quarterback prospect PFF has seen in the past six drafts, though. His accuracy is on another level from any quarterback we’ve ever charted.”
Burrow just had arguably the best season by a college passer ever and impressively enough, he did it in a new locale after leaving Ohio State.
Comparing the two right now is really just splitting hairs. But it doesn’t hurt to have the context of an early look. Provided Burrow performs as expected and Lawrence keeps on at his same rate, this is far from the last time we’ll see the two mentioned together.
