Watch Joe Burrow in action as the Bengals face the Browns on Thursday Night Football, live on Sky Sports NFL from 12.30am
Friday 18 September 2020 00:27, UK
Remember the name Joe Burrow, because in 10 years' time NFL fans far and wide will be analysing his success among history's No 1 overall draft picks.
The Cincinnati Bengals resisted temptation to spring a surprise during the 2020 NFL Draft as they selected LSU quarterback Joe Burrow at No 1 overall. It was always Joe Burrow.
Burrow barely flinched as the consensus No 1 pick in the lead up to the draft, and the hope is he can shine as the centre piece of second-year Bengals head coach Zac Taylor's team.
The ice-cold operator carries quite the CV after an all-but simple rise to prominence, catapulting his way to the top of the Bengals' draft board with perhaps the greatest season from a quarterback in college football history.
But where did Burrow come from?
Burrow has football in his blood. His father Jimmy was drafted by the Green Bay Packers as a defensive back in 1976, before going on to play for the Montreal Alouettes, Calgary Stampeders and Ottawa Rough Riders in the Canadian Football League. He later moved into college football coaching, his longest spell coming with Ohio State where he worked from 2005 until retirement in 2018.
Having attended Athens High School in The Plains, Ohio, Burrow committed to Ohio State University as a four-star recruit in 2014. Burrow had not only flourished on the football field in high school, but also on the basketball court as he was named first-team all-state at point guard in his senior year.
Burrow redshirted his freshman year and featured in just six games, finishing 22 of 28 passing for 226 yards and two touchdowns. He played in just four games the next year, recording seven passes for 61 yards as Dwayne Haskins, now of the Washington Football Team, asserted himself as the starter.
That prompted Burrow to transfer to LSU in May 2018, with the junior starter leading the Tigers to a 10-3 record and victory over UCF in the Fiesta Bowl, finishing the season 219 of 379 passing for 2,894 yards, 16 touchdowns and five interceptions. He also rushed for 399 yards and seven touchdowns off 128 carries.
Few could have foreseen his explosion in 2019 as Burrow inspired the Tigers to the College National Championship title against Clemson, during which he threw for 463 passing yards and five touchdowns, as well as running in another. He finished the season with 5,671 passing yards, an FBS single-season record 60 touchdowns, with his individual efforts recognised last December when he won the Heisman Trophy with a record 90.7 per cent of all first-place votes available.
Burrow also earned unanimous All-American honours as well as picking up the Walter Camp award, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award, the Davey O'Brien award and the Manning award.
Burrow had a star-studded supporting case in his senior year at LSU, including fellow draft prospects in wide receiver Justin Jefferson and star sophomore wideout Ja'Marr Chase. Nonetheless, his talent still burst through upon deeper analysis from NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah.
"Now, it is tricky to evaluate both Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa [drafted by the Miami Dolphins at No 5] because of the amount of talent that they have around them, so the way I did it is I went back and I watched them against the best teams they played against," Jeremiah told reporters.
"I watched all their snaps under pressure, and when you do that, there's a decided difference between Joe Burrow and everybody else in the whole draft. He was phenomenal when he was under pressure and he was phenomenal when they were playing against teams with similar talent."
Besides consistent accuracy and remarkable composure in the pocket, Burrow also offers proven leadership skills both on and off the field.
"He's self-assured and plays with competitive toughness that teammates will gravitate toward instantly," said NFL Analyst Lance Zierlein in his overview for NFL.com.
"He's a rhythm passer who benefited from tempo and scheme, but his vision, touch and read recognition made the offense special.
"He buys time for himself inside the pocket, but creates explosive, off-schedule plays outside of it with his arm or legs. He throws with staggering precision and timing."
Discussing Burrow, LSU head coach Ed Oregon told ESPN: "Joe is probably the most focused football player I've ever been around. We gave him the team, along with other guys. They took leadership."
It's a fitting Ohio homecoming for Burrow as the new face of a franchise that is eager to return to the playoffs following a four-year absence.
Burrow thrives on the big stage and arrives with a natural ability to rally those around him, which is what his head coach will need in order to kick-start his tenure.
The Bengals finished with a league-worst 2-14 record last season, 19th in passing offense with 228.3 yards per game and 25th in rushing offense with 94.8 yards per game.
That was without seven-time Pro Bowl wide receiver A.J. Green, who missed the season through injury before being franchise-tagged this offseason as a major attraction for Burrow.
The Burrow era with the Bengals got off to a somewhat tentative start as he completed 23 of 36 passes for 193 yards, with one interception on his NFL debut in 1 16-13 defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers 16-13 on Sunday, but Good Morning Football's Kyle Brandt and Nate Burleson liked what they saw.
"I loved what Burrow did," Brandt said. "They lost at home, they did not score many points, it wasn't pretty, you'd think we should be jumping on him, but I loved it.
"You know why I loved it? Just give me one throw. There are going to be mistakes, it's going to be ugly, he's going to miss guys - I don't even care about any of that.
"The one throw, at the end of the game - with the game on the line - he made a 'money' throw to Green [not called as a touchdown due to pass interference] and that validated the pick right there.
"That's a game-winning touchdown; it's almost like Burrow did win it, but the Chargers had a veteran cornerback who sold the pass interference.
"And, if you didn't watch that game, [Joey] Bosa and [Melvin] Ingram hit him all day - he got tossed around - and yet he still chucked the ball around. I was really impressed, even in a loss."
Burleson added: "I love everything about this young man. I know I get really excited when I talk about these young players, but he just has it.
"Here are some things that you can't coach: confidence, he's got it; cool, there's something about him; you can't coach composure and you know what else you can't coach? A captain.
"This dude is a rookie and was named a captain of a team that has a load of veterans. He has got the goods."
Burrow will get the chance to show he's got the goods and get off the mark as an NFL starter when the Bengals take on the Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football, live on Sky Sports NFL from 12.30am, Friday.
Sky Sports NFL will be your dedicated channel for NFL coverage through the season - featuring a host of NFL Network programming, a new weekly preview show as well as at least five games a week and NFL Redzone, you won't miss a moment.
Don't forget to follow us on skysports.com/nfl, our Twitter account @SkySportsNFL & Sky Sports - on the go!
