Joe Burrow compared to yet another Hall of Fame quarterback

It’s becoming way too common to see or hear Joe Burrow being compared to an all-time great in the NFL. Who’s the latest name he’s been compared to? 

Recently, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was compared to future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN noted that Burrow might be the closest thing to Brady because of the toughness he displays on the field, especially when getting sacked 19 times in the postseason earlier this year.

Well, Burrow has now been compared to yet another NFL legend.

According to Chris Simms of NBC Sports,

"Joe Burrow is the closest thing I have seen to Peyton Manning."

That quote was from Peter King’s Football Morning in America column from earlier this week. It’s high praise for the soon-to-be third-year man out of LSU who the Bengals took No. 1 overall just a little over two years ago. Manning was also the first overall pick when he was coming out of college and entering his pro career.

Move over, Peyton Manning — Joe Burrow is the next big thing at QB.

I don’t need to go into detail about how great Manning was during his NFL career. He spent his 18 years in the NFL with two teams (the Colts for 13 years and the Broncos for four years) and led each of those teams to two Super Bowl appearances, winning one with each.

Manning also racked up all kinds of awards during his nearly two-decade career. He was crowned league MVP a whopping five times and named to the All-Pro team seven times. It wasn’t a surprise whatsoever when Manning was inducted into the Hall of Fame last year.

As for the comparisons between Manning and Burrow, the obvious one is that they’re both former No. 1 overall picks who landed with bad teams notorious for losing. It took Manning a lot longer to get the Colts to the Super Bowl than it did with Burrow and the Bengals but at least Manning got that title. Burrow is still waiting for his and he should have plenty of chances to be a Super Bowl champion.

Truthfully, I don’t really see the Manning comparisons, especially this early into Burrow’s career. Yes, they’re both great quarterbacks but Burrow is his own person. He’s also a lot more mobile than Manning was during his career. Manning rushed for 667 yards in 17 seasons while Burrow already has 260 yards on the ground.

It’s obviously flattering for Burrow to receive this kind of praise but let’s let him become his own quarterback rather than comparing him to other players.