Last week’s NFL Draft saw the predictable first round pick everyone saw coming – Joe Burrow was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals as their quarterback. How much of an effect Burrows has on the Bengals is one of the biggest questions ahead of whenever the NFL returns.
From rocketing to fame as the record-breaking winner of the Heisman Trophy, Joe Burrow has had a meteoric rise. The 23-year-old threw for a barely processable 5,671 yards which led to 60 touchdowns as he led the Tigers to an undefeated College Football Playoff National Championship title. In doing so, Burrow bagged both a National Championship and won the Heisman and #1 draft pick gongs – the first time in history one man had achieved such a feat.
Meteors, however, crash to Earth as well as soar through space, so will Burrow rise or fall again when the season begins in earnest?
The odds of The Bengals winning the 55th edition of the Super Bowl are as lengthy as they were before Burrows made the switch. They sat at +10000 before the NFL Draft and they remain there now. But is that fair?
The naysayers will lay their hand on some easy evidence that The Bengals are unable to even think about qualifying for the postseason. Their regular season record in 2019 was lamentable, just two wins against 14 losses. On the face of it, that statistic alone would be enough for many commentators to write them off without considering anything else. But digging a little deeper into those fixtures shows that The Bengals led in 12 of their 16 games. They just couldn’t hold onto their lead, and if Burrow – as predicted – marches straight into the season-starting roster once it begins for real, the fear factor he brings with him may change that.
The reality is that Burrow will have work cut out to really make a massive dent in those stats in the next 12 months. No team has led in more NFL games but won fewer in one season in the last two decades, and while that will surely improve in the next year or so, they’re 11/2 to reach the playoffs for the first time in five seasons.
One factor which may help Joe Burrow is the return of wide receiver A.J. Green. Green was injured for the entire 2019 season and while he will take time to prove his comeback is complete following the ankle injury that kept him out, if the 31-year-old can rediscover the form that has seen him receive over 1,000 yards in six of his eight complete NFL seasons, then Burrow will be licking his lips at the prospect of finding him on the football field.
You can only get +240 on Joe Burrow to win the 2020 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award, while the man himself trod a smart line in post-draft interviews between raising confidence and managing expectations.
“I’m going to come in and compete and try to be the best player I can be,” Burrow told Cincy reporters immediately after the draft last week. “You have to be stern in your voice, because if you are in there wavering and wobbling and fumbling over words, all the guys are going to be like, ‘What is this guy doing in here, Coach? Get him out. Get someone else in. That’s something I’m going to be really focused on.”
It’s clear that the commanding quarterback from college football is determined to make the kind of impact that players like Tom Brady have done in the past.
The Cincinatti Bengals are 11/2 to make the play-offs and Joe Burrow himself is 150/1 to be the regular season MVP for the 2020/21 season depending on when it takes place.
Where those odds go during the season is still anyone’s guess, but we think they might shorten, so currently represent good value.
