These days, it seems like everyone has an opinion on every little thing involving the NFL. No where are those opinions more diverse and heated than when it comes to talking about the most important position in the sport: the quarterbacks. Everyone has their thoughts on who the best, and worst, quarterbacks are, and that includes coaches and executives around the league.
Those opinions usually stay pretty tight-lipped, except for an annual tier ranking from The Athletic. Well, it’s that time of year again, and for yet another year, coaches and executives believe that Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is a ‘top-tier’ quarterback, despite struggling with injuries in 2023.
For the purposes of this tier ranking, the “top-tier” was defined as ‘(a) quarterback (who) can carry his team each week. The team wins because of him. He expertly handles pure-passing situations. He has no real holes in his game.”
This year’s version of the rankings has only three quarterbacks deemed worthy of the first tier, the lowest number in nearly a decade (since 2016). Burrow comes in second in the voting, just behind Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, who was a unanimous choice for the tier. Rounding out the “top-tier” quarterbacks was Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen.
Last season, Burrow had arguably his worst year as a professional, largely due to struggling with injuries. Burrow played in only 10 games in 2023, throwing for just over 2300 yards, his lowest total of his career. His 15 touchdowns and 66.8% completion percentage were the second-worst of his career, only behind his rookie season of 2020.
Despite the struggles, it’s clear that Burrow has earned the respect around the league, and that most are expecting a bounce-back year for the star quarterback. That bounce-back may be easier said than done, though, as the Bengals offense experienced some significant changes in the offseason with the departures of wide receiver Tyler Boyd and running back Joe Mixon to the Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans respectively.
Still, if Burrow remains healthy, he should be one of the top quarterbacks in the league again this year, with the wide receiver duo of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins making a dynamic trio for the Bengals offense