Joe Burrow is entering his second year as the Cincinnati Bengals‘ starting quarterback and there’s a lot of hype surrounding him this year. This is impressive considering Burrow is coming off an injury that forced him to miss the final six games of his rookie campaign.
A few weeks ago, Kay Adams of Good Morning Football discussed how she believed Burrow could be a dark-horse MVP candidate this year. She said this because Burrow proved he could compete in a tough division like the AFC North and pointed to how Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson both won MVPs in their second seasons, so why couldn’t Burrow?
Bengals fans loved hearing that for sure!
Well, the MVP conversations surrounding Burrow have continued, as Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report also has Burrow in his list of dark-horse MVP candidates.
"With better protection, a legitimate No. 1 receiver, a host of quality complementary receivers like Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd, and a premium running back in Joe Mixon, Burrow could see a dramatic jump in statistical production.And if the Bengals do surprise and claim a playoff spot, it will likely be because of Burrow’s play. Turning an also-ran into a contender certainly looks good on a player’s MVP resume."
Joe Burrow is gaining respect ahead of the 2021 season.
Knox noted that while Burrow put up impressive numbers as a rookie before getting injured, MVPs come from playoff teams and that’s the reason the former No. 1 overall pick is listed as a dark-horse candidate for the award.
Adding Ja’Marr Chase to Burrow’s arsenal gives him yet another weapon to throw to, joining the already talented group of Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins. Having a healthy Joe Mixon back in the fold will help too and if the offensive line is indeed improved from a season ago, why couldn’t Burrow be a serious contender to win MVP?
At this point, Burrow is only being listed as a dark-horse because he’s on the Bengals roster and not many people have them being a playoff team this year. If they surprise, however, Burrow is probably going to be one of the main reasons why and that will be enough to propel him into MVP conversations.
This is definitely fun to see continuously pop up in the news cycles and the hype around Joe Burrow is only going to continue as we get closer to the start of the season.