Much has been said about how valuable Joe Burrow was to the Cincinnati Bengals as a rookie — and how important he is to the team’s future.
But how did Burrow fare compared to all other rookies?
Per Pro Football Focus’ WAR metric, he was a top-four name. A “wins above replacement” metric is becoming more and more common in the football scene and in a basic sense, finds player value by combining PFF grade, simulations and other factors.
Considering names like Russell Wilson and Patrick Mahomes have topped the WAR charts in the past, it’s a good sign Burrow already excelled in this area.
And he did so beside another great quarterback prospect in Justin Herbert, as well as two breakout top wideouts, Justin Jefferson and Brandon Aiyuk.
Of course, we could go the more traditional route and simply say Burrow passes the eye test with Bengals legend Ken Anderson.
Either way, all the more reason for the Bengals to dramatically upgrade the roster around Burrow this offseason.
Most valuable rookies in 2020 per PFF WAR:
🔹 Justin Herbert
🔹 Joe Burrow
🔹 Justin Jefferson
🔹 Brandon Aiyukpowered by @awscloud pic.twitter.com/pVRVlhHCWp
— PFF (@PFF) February 4, 2021
