Few players are as exciting to watch as Joe Burrow. The young man only joined the NFL back in 2020, but he’s already managed to help turn a less than desirable team into a serious force within the league. It’s likely that the Bengals are thrilled to have Burrow as a member of the team.
Still, the young man has managed to thrill NFL staff and fans alike with his incredible play at the quarterback position. He’s picked up quite a few honors incredibly early in his career, making it likely that he’ll go down in history if he continues on his current trajectory.
10 He Is A Heisman Trophy Winner
Every college football player hopes to win a Hesiman one day. It’s a symbol of excellence that is often seen as an award for quarterbacks, but it is simply to acknowledge the best of the best in any position.
That said, quarterbacks do tend to win it, and Burrow was one of those quarterbacks. After an incredible season, he became the 2019 recipient of the prestigious award. He was already likely heavily sought after before the win, but that probably just solidified his value in the minds of NFL teams.
9 He Comes From A Family Of Athletic Greatness
Some football stars come from families that had little to their names, some come from families with no history in sports, and then some come from families with a history of athletics. It’s been said that Burrow comes from a lineage of greatness in sports.
While his family has played different sports over the decades, Burrow has said that his family has set records in basketball and football at different levels in different times. While many have their claim to fame in collegiate competition, Burrow looks to solidify his family in history.
8 His Rookie Season Was Cut Short
People who were excited to see Burrow make the adjustment to the NFL got a bit of a sad surprise when he wound up injured in his rookie season. He managed to make it through more than half of the season before he was hit bad, and he essentially destroyed his knee.
The serious injury meant he wouldn’t be back to play, but Burrow was just lucky to ever be able to play again in general. Luckily, it seems that the injury didn’t shake Burrow and he actually came back even stronger in his next season.
7 He Had A Stadium Named In His Honor
There are a lot of honors that an athlete can receive and all of them can mean different things to different people. Some want the biggest prizes in their sport, and others are simply happy to get whatever recognition they earn.
Burrow earned serious recognition in a hurry, and after just a few years, the high school he attended named their football stadium after him. The gesture is a relatively simple one, but one that likely meant quite a lot to the clearly family-oriented Burrow.
6 He Led The Bengals To Win In The Playoffs For The First Time In Decades
Something that shouldn’t be understated is just how much a truly good quarterback can turn a team around. While Burrow isn’t the only change that the Bengals made in recent years, he is a pretty significant one that brought a lot to the team.
That’s never been clearer than when he finally returned from a serious injury to lead his team to the playoffs in his second season. That feat was incredible because the Bengals hadn’t been on the winning side of the playoffs since 1990.
5 He Holds Multiple Bengals Franchise Records
Some people don’t understand the hype around Burrow for whatever reason, but those people may want to take a look at his play records for why so many people are so high on him. In such a short span of time, he already holds multiple franchise records for the Bengals.
Obviously, all of those records have to do with his incredible passing ability, but it just goes to show how good Burrow is. In just two quick seasons, Burrow managed to become one of the best players in Bengals history.
4 He Wants To Save His Money
There are a few high-profile NFL stars that have mentioned the importance of saving money. It seems that Burrow is interested in following in the footsteps of the greats with that mindset as he has openly stated his intention to save his money.
Specifically, he’s explained that he’s only interested in spending money from his endorsement deals, and saving pretty much all of his NFL contract money. That’s a smart way to save for the future in case any serious injuries require an early retirement.
3 His College Career Didn’t Start Out Well
Something that may come as a shock to a lot of Burrow’s fans is that he really didn’t have a great college career, at least in the beginning. He red-shirted his first season, and hardly saw any play in his next two seasons.
It actually wouldn’t be until he transferred schools that he would actually get the chance to show off what he could do. Ohio State missed out on a serious impact player, someone that LSU was more than happy to take off of their hands.
2 He Was Undefeated In His Final College Season
To put into perspective just how dominant Burrow was when he was finally able to play in college, he managed to go an entire season without taking a loss. That’s an impressive feat for any player, but Burrow often made it look incredibly easy.
He didn’t just manage to dominate as a member of a team either, he had multiple stats at the time that led the NCAA. It’s no surprise that he was one of the hottest NFL prospects in recent years with the level of play that he is able to consistently produce.
1 He Was The Only 2020-Drafted Rookie To Start On Opening Week
When a rookie is drafted in the NFL draft, there’s a fairly solid chance that they won’t end up starting for quite a while. Since Burrow was in such high demand, it only makes sense that the Bengals wanted him to take the field as soon as possible.
Thanks to that, Burrow is the only rookie in his drafted year that actually started on the opening week of the NFL. Few people from his draft year have managed to garner as much attention as Burrow thanks to just how incredible he is on the field.
