Cincinnati Bengals fans, please refamiliarize yourselves with Joe Burrow.
We begin this one with a quote from a literary classic, A Tale of Two Cities. It was the best of times and the worst of times. No disrespect is intended to Andy Dalton, but not since the Cincinnati Bengals selected Carson Palmer with the first-overall selection back in the 2003 NFL Draft has this team had a signal-caller that walked into the door with more expectations than the one they have right now.
History has a way of repeating itself, and 17 years after Palmer was the draft’s first player taken, the Bengals, again with the first-overall selection, landed another quarterback and winner of the Heisman in 2020. This one was a six-foot-four, 221-pound quarterback prospect from Ames, Iowa, one Joe Burrow.
It’s been the best of times and worst for this young man, and he still has a ton of football to play in his career.
Most of the best high school talent in the country dreams of donning the jersey of one of the nation’s most historic programs. Burrow has done that twice, beginning his career with the Ohio State Buckeyes before finding himself with an LSU Tigers team that hoisted the College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy with him at the helm.
Winning never felt so good, and though his NFL dreams have materialized, he’s coming off of a season where he’s never lost so much. He went 2-7-1 as a starter before injury prevented him from completing his first season (much like an injury prevented Carson Palmer from completing his first playoff game).
2021 represents a new year and new opportunities. Here are three reasonable expectations for QB1.