Joe Burrow can go ahead and start looking for houses in Cincinnati, as it’s a virtual certainly he’ll be selected by the Bengals with the No. 1 overall pick Thursday night.
But in a hypothetical world where Burrow was to land where he systematically fit best, Kurt Warner believes the LSU product would be headed to New England.
Warner on Monday laid out the best system fits for the consensus top three quarterback prospects in this year’s draft class: Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert. Considering how much Burrow thrived in the spread-out offense in Baton Rouge, Warner believes the 2019 Heisman Trophy winner could do the same with the Patriots.
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“When I went and looked back, Joe Burrow, what is he good at? Eighty percent of the time or more when he was at LSU they put five guys out. They forced the issue, they didn’t protect him. They wanted him to get the ball out of his hands quickly, read and react ’cause that’s where he’s at his best,” Warner said on NFL Network’s “NFL Total Access.” “What team’s done that over the last decade or so better than anybody? I say the New England Patriots. We often talk about Tom Brady playing small ball. It’s all about getting the ball out of his hands — three, four seconds — protecting himself, getting the ball into his playmakers’ hands. So wherever Joe Burrow goes, maybe take a look at what New England’s done with Tom Brady because I think that fits how Joe Burrow plays the game.”
The Bengals offense, from a personnel standpoint, isn’t terribly far away from being able to set up Burrow for success. He has an above-average wideout tandem at his disposal in A.J. Green and Tyler Boyd, as well as a dynamic, dual-threat running back in Joe Mixon. Another pass-catching option or two would allow Cincy to really open things up and put Burrow in a situation he’s both experienced and comfortable in.
The Bengals own the first pick of the second round, so perhaps they’ll target one of the premier pass-catching options in this year’s loaded wideout class.
