Believe the Joe Burrow Hype

The expectations that come with being the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft are sky-high. For a talent like Joe Burrow coming off a historic final collegiate season with LSU, perhaps the bar is higher for him than most. So far, he looks ready to live up to the hype.

The balance between immediate impact and long-term results is always a fascinating case to watch. For Burrow, it will be especially intriguing considering he’s already 23-years-old and will be a year older at the start of his career than Lamar Jackson when he won MVP.

When discussing where Burrow is in his development ahead of the start of his rookie campaign, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor made it clear that Burrow is doing an ‘excellent job.’ Cincinnati has no regrets making him a Day 1 starter.

“We’re not going to beat around the bush. We’re going to give the guy the reps. I didn’t want him to be splitting reps with somebody else and not getting all the work in that he needed to get to be the Week 1 starter. Sometimes you just have to make those decisions and go with it. Again, I haven’t looked back. He’s done an excellent job. He’s been the No. 1 quarterback. We still have work to do these next three weeks, but again we’re not going to look again on that decision.

“He’s done nothing since he’s been in the building or on the field to make us second guess any of those decisions, in terms of taking him, or making him the starting quarterback from Day 1.”

The Bengals will need to continue to bolster the supporting cast around Burrow before they can contend in the AFC North. However, having weapons like Joe Mixon, A.J. Green, and Tyler Boyd to name a few, Burrow will have some talent to work with.

When it comes to the win column, the Bengals likely will continue to struggle since rebuilding is generally a long process. The defenses in the AFC North are quite tough, but if Burrow can succeed against them, then Cincinnati could surprise sooner rather than later.