NFL executives rave Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert ‘have no ceiling’
Current and former NFL coaches, scouts, and executives believe rookie quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert have limitless potential.
On Sunday afternoon, the NFL got a glimpse of what the league hopes is a thrilling future.
At around 3:40 p.m. in Cincinnati, Joe Burrow, the No. 1 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft, was leading the Bengals down the field to set up a Randy Bullock 30-yard field goal to extend CIncinnati’s lead, and ultimately seal his first career victory.
Burrow completed 25-of-36 passing attempts for 300 yards with one touchdown and one interception, finally getting over the hump for Win No. 1 only a week after playing to a tie against the Eagles in Philadelphia.
Meanwhile, 917 miles away in Tampa Bay, Los Angeles Chargers rookie Justin Herbert was locked in a shootout against Tom Brady and the Buccaneers.
Brady ultimately stormed back, leading the Bucs to 31 points in the final 31 minutes. Yet the hotshot rookie gave the future Hall of Famer all he could handle. Only five of Herbert’s 25 passes hit the ground on the way to a 290-yard, three-touchdown, one-interception performance and a nearly flawless 137.9 passer rating.
Sunday served as both Burrow and Herbert’s coming-out party, and they turned heads of current and former executives, scouts, and coaches.
“I see no ceiling physically or mentally for either of them,” former New Orleans Saints general manager and Executive of The Year Randy Mueller tells FanSided. “It’s just a matter of stability around them and the system and positions their coaches put them in. Both just need to play and pray that somehow more talent shows up to join them.”
Long before Burrow captured the hearts of Bengals fans, the 6-foot-4, 221-pound kid was projected to be a franchise quarterback and the consensus first pick throughout the draft process following his 60 touchdown passes and championship effort in 2019 with LSU.
“I’d love to have either of those guys on my team,” an NFC personnel executive told FanSided, on the condition of anonymity as he is not permitted to discuss other teams. “Both are similar athletically, both are smart for the position, but I think Joe is a little more of a vocal leader, which stands out for me.”
And yet, not everyone across the NFL believes the gap between Burrow and Herbert is all that sizable.
“I love what I’ve seen out of Herbert,” a current NFC coach replied, when asked by FanSided which of the rookie quarterbacks he’d prefer to build his team around. “He’s decisive, tough, and he stood in the pocket despite taking a bit of a beating. That was a big-time touchdown against cover zero on Sunday.”
The coach, speaking on the condition of anonymity as he is not authorized to discuss other teams publicly, also praised Herbert’s mobility, which was one of his strengths at Oregon.
Meanwhile, Burrow looks much more like a seasoned veteran than a rookie with only four games under his belt.
“What jumped out at me was how poised he looks in the pocket,” a scout told FanSided.
It might take some time, as both the Chargers and Bengals’ rosters have plenty of holes. But, as young quarterbacks like the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, Ravens’ reigning MVP Lamar Jackson, the Eagles’ Carson Wentz, and Rams’ Jared Goff have shown, elite quarterback play can rapidly change the trajectory of a franchise.
The executive believes Burrow and Herbert could wind up in that class.
“The ceiling for both of these guys is very high,” he said. “I just feel they both have that ‘it’ factor. They both have perennial Pro Bowl potential.”
If the Bengals and Chargers are able to bolster the talent around Burrow and Herbert while on their rookie deals, it isn’t difficult to close your eyes and envision postseason battles between these two in the not so distant future.
NFL MVP Power Rankings
It’s almost impossible to believe a quarter of the NFL season is already in the rearview mirror, but we have bore witness to arguably the greatest stretch of quarterback play in recent memory. There are at least three quarterbacks who can lay claim to the MVP award after four weeks.
But, as one AFC personnel executive texted me this week, “DangeRuss!,” as if there is any doubt who the favorite is in this horse race.
Here’s how I’d handicap the race:
Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks: Through the first eight seasons of his career, Wilson never even received a single MVP vote. Seriously, how is that even possible? The way Wilson has started the season, completing 75.2 percent of his passes (yes, you read that correctly) for 1,285 yards with 16 touchdowns and just two interceptions, it’s almost as if he is out for revenge in his ninth season.
Wilson is the runaway favorite, and the way that he has been airing it out all over the yard for the Seahawks makes it difficult to envision anyone else knocking him out of the clubhouse lead.
Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs: The best quarterback currently walking the planet, with a high-octane offense full of speed at every position, Mahomes continues to put up new highlights every single week while keeping fans glued to the television set.
Kansas City is appointment watching right now because with Mahomes at the helm of Andy Reid’s innovative scheme, you never know what you’ll see next. Mahomes has already passed for 1,134 yards with 11 touchdowns and has yet to toss an interception. The most valuable player on his team, Mahomes may be best suited to run down Wilson by season’s end.
Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers: Rodgers is off to one of the most prolific starts of his career, which is stunning given the amount of turmoil around him. The Packers have been without wide receiver Devante Adams and Allen Lazard for stretches this season, but that hasn’t slown Rodgers and the unbeaten Packers.
Rodgers is on pace for nearly 5,000 yards and 52 touchdowns. If he puts up those kinds of numbers, the Packers are going to be nearly impossible to beat, and he’ll have a legitimate shot at his third MVP award.
What I’ll be watching Sunday
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Chicago Bears
Thursday Night Football got a winning matchup this week, that’s for sure. This one won’t have the same stakes as the last time Nick Foles went up against Tom Brady, delivering redemption to the city of Philadelphia in the Eagles’ first Super Bowl victory over Brady’s New England Patriots back in Feb. 2018, but it should be a heck of a game.
Brady proved even without star wide receiver Chris Godwin that he is heating up in his new team after passing for 369 yards with five touchdowns and one interception in Tampa’s win over the Chargers last Sunday.
Meanwhile, Foles, will be making his second start of the season, and seems rejuvenated by his reunion with quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo. He already has something special brewing with Bears wide receiver Allen Robinson. The quarterback-receiver duo connected for seven completions for 101 yards and a score in a loss to the Colts. This one has the chance to be all kinds of fun.
NFL Week 5: Odds for each game
Quotable
"“We were playing good defense, we had field position, and we wanted to win right here, put them on back there – I thought it was a good time to put the ball to our defense and let them play.”"
–Giants head coach Joe Judge on his decision to punt on 4th-and-4 with 9:46 remaining in a 10-9 game.
It’s obvious that Judge does not trust his offense right now. Why would he? The Giants are 0-4, averaging a league-low 11.7 points per game, and second-year quarterback Daniel Jones has already turned the ball over 12 times in four games.
Final thought
It is likely nearly impossible to construct a bubble to protect the entire NFL, including 1,696 players and over 800 coaches as the COVID-19 pandemic picks up steam with over 210,000 now dead across the nation with no signs of slowing.
However, as we’re seeing with outbreaks popping up in nearly every county across the country since schools have reopened, just as the Tennessee Titans have dealt with their own outbreak and the New England Patriots were rocked by quarterback Cam Newton’s positive test, it might be time to reopen negotiations about placing teams and their immediate families in hotels for the rest of the season.
If the NBA can take over a whole resort and provide educational services for players’ children, there’s no reason the NFL can’t make accommodations for virtual learning in 32 team hotels for the next four months.
Protecting players, and the remaining games, from the virus is going to become more difficult the longer we continue to open schools without mandatory weekly, daily, or any testing for teachers, students, and staff.
Or, perhaps, as a country we could come together and make testing in schools a requirement.
Matt Lombardo is the site expert for GMenHQ, and writes Between The Hash Marks each Wednesday for FanSided. Follow Matt on Twitter: @MattLombardoNFL.