Burrow, Allen or Herbert? Mike Sando Article from Poll of Coaches/GM/Scouts - Athletic article

[membengal]

Of interest perhaps - here it is...

https://theathletic.com/3088403/2022/01/27/joe-burrow-josh-allen-or-justin-herbert-which-rising-young-qb-would-nfl-coaches-and-execs-take-now/

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Joe Burrow, Josh Allen or Justin Herbert? Which rising young QB would NFL coaches and execs take now?

Three young quarterbacks soared toward superstar status as the 2021 NFL regular season concluded. Joe Burrow and Josh Allen continued their ascent with memorable playoff performances. The third, Justin Herbert, ranked behind only Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady in Total QBR during a second consecutive impressive season to start his career.

Burrow, Allen and Herbert are three of the most exciting young players in the game. Each has shown enough to enhance his profile since entering the league, but none has played well enough for long enough to cement himself with Rodgers, Brady and Patrick Mahomes as the elite of the elite. Allen has grown into the role, emerging as a consistently dynamic force over the past two seasons. Burrow and Herbert have played only two seasons — Burrow less than that, thanks to a knee injury suffered as a rookie.

Which one of these three rising quarterbacks would you take if allowed to choose just one? I posed that question to two NFL offensive coaches, a former general manager, one long-time evaluator, one younger evaluator, former NFL executive of the year Randy Mueller and The Athletic NFL Draft analyst Dane Brugler. The seven voters ranked the quarterbacks 1-2-3. The results are below, along with explanations. There was almost a tie at the top.

Burrow (1), Allen (2) , Herbert (3)? Ballots, please

Former GM
1
2
3

Evaluator 1
1
2
3

Coach 1
1
3
2

Coach 2
1
3
2

Evaluator 2
2
1
3

Brugler
2
1
3

Mueller
3
1
2

Avg Vote
1.6 - Burrow

1.9 - Allen
2.6 - Herbert

1. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals

Average vote: 1.6

Burrow was the surest bet of the three coming out of college. Any team would have selected him first. Allen and Herbert required more projection, for different reasons, which is why they were not No. 1 overall choices.

“You can make a case for all three, easily,” one of the offensive coaches said. “My gut is it’s Burrow because he’s the best decision maker and he’s the toughest mentally, the most resilient, the best leader.”

The Bengals went from zero playoff victories for 31 years to the AFC Championship Game in Burrow’s first full season as a starter.

“I would take any one of the three, obviously — they are all impressive,” the other offensive coach said. “I just think Burrow has that little extra something. Maybe it’s because he has (Ja’Marr) Chase, but he was that was at LSU. He’s so accurate. He sees things so well.”

Burrow was first on both coaches’ ballots. He was first or second on six ballots overall. Mueller’s ballot was the exception. He had Allen first, Herbert second.

“Coaches want the processor and the most coachable of them all,” Mueller said. “Burrow is the highest level of instincts. To me, that’s why all these offensive coaches were in love with Mac Jones. I just want the best guy, the most talent that we can manage going forward.”

Burrow edged Allen for the top spot because the two offensive coaches dropped Allen to third on their ballots, the only No. 3 votes Allen received. If those coaches had ranked Allen second and Herbert third, then Burrow and Allen would have tied at the top.

“What Burrow is doing with that offensive line is impressive,” said the long-time evaluator, who had Burrow atop his ballot. “His eyes are so quick. He sees it like Brady, Peyton, Brees at their primes. It is almost like Joe Montana, seeing it that quick and delivering it accurately.”

What about all the sacks, including nine against Tennessee in the divisional round? Mueller thought Burrow would always take sacks at a higher rate for a variety of reasons, including the Bengals’ roster construction.

“You can get on him if you like for getting sacked nine times,” the former GM said, “but he is kind of like the general who said, ‘You know what, we are going to have to take some casualties here, men — I’m going to take some sacks, but I’m not going to turn it over and I’m going to get you 20 points on the board and they are going to beat the heck out of me.’ ”

2. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills

Average vote: 1.9

Mueller, Brugler and the younger evaluator all had Allen atop their ballots.

“I think he’s John Elway,” Mueller said. “He does not have the body of work Elway has, but the skill set is so similar that it’s crazy.”

Allen is ahead of Elway in at least one respect. He has 31 rushing touchdowns in 61 career games. Elway had 33 rushing touchdowns in 234 games.

“To be to be a top-tier guy in today’s NFL, you need a superhero trait, and I think Josh Allen has a few of them with the way he can impact the game in so many different ways,” Brugler said. “It doesn’t come without concerns. He takes so many hits. He is more expensive than the other two guys. But if I’m just talking about the player and the guy that I feel most confident is going to lead my team to a chance at a Super Bowl championship, I’m going with Josh Allen.”

One of the evaluators loved the way the Bills developed Allen: addressing his accuracy issues early while using his running ability as a complement rather than turning Allen into primarily a runner early in his career. “They did not say, ‘We have to be run-first to fix your arm second,’ ” this evaluator said. “They have done the reverse. They deconstructed his motion and improved that, so they can lean into the running when they have to, but he has done enough from a pocket standpoint that he can stand there.”

Mueller said he thought accuracy concerns regarding Allen were always overblown.

“Without being anchored to this position, I’ve never been a believer that this guy had inaccuracy problems that couldn’t be fixed,” Mueller said. “I could explain those things when he came out, so I’ve always been a little bit aligned behind that theory of, he just needs training, comfort level, processing and learning, and he’ll be fine.”

Some expressed concern about what might happen in Buffalo if offensive coordinator Brian Daboll leaves and the system changes.

“You’re going to have more ups and downs with Allen once his contract affects the talent around him,” one of the offensive coaches said.

3. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers

Average vote: 2.6

Recency bias could favor Burrow and Allen following their strong performances in the playoffs. Not for Mueller, however. He had Herbert second, ahead of Burrow.

“The hard one for me is Herbert vs. Burrow,” Mueller said. “I think Herbert’s offense holds him back. If you put Herbert in Buffalo, he is not wired the same as Josh Allen, but he could do a lot of similar things. Those are the athletes and that is where I yielded at the end of the day.”

Both offensive coaches had Herbert over Allen, but behind Burrow. One noted that Herbert succeeded the minute he walked into the league, on a team that had question marks on the offensive line and a defense that fell off.

“I think you look at what Burrow does above the neck, I’d probably just go Burrow second and Herbert third, even though Herbert may be the best thrower of them all,” an evaluator who ranked Allen first said.

As retirement approached for Ben Roethlisberger, Drew Brees, Philip Rivers and others, it wasn’t always certain if the league would develop quarterbacks talented enough to replace them. Burrow, Allen and Herbert are easing those concerns.

“What I love about all three is just how they’ve overcome so much,” Brugler said. “Josh Allen did not grow up going to quarterback camps where playing the position a specific way is ingrained at a young age. He learned organically and had just a very different upbringing and journey. He’s still learning, growing and evolving and becoming better. Joe Burrow went to Ohio State, so he was a big recruit, but he had to go somewhere else and do it. Justin Herbert, small hometown guy in Eugene, a quiet guy by nature, coming out of his shell.

“There’s not a wrong answer here. You can really make the case for any of these guys.”

 

 

[ArmyBengal]

1, 2, 3

I like all three of them as QB's, but there's simply no denying Burrow.
Those who suggest otherwise, simply haven't watched to the same degree.

[HoosierCat]

Pff highlights every team’s most improved player. Guess who.

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QB JOE BURROW

PFF Grade change from 2020 to 2021: 75.1 → 91.8 (+16.7)

Burrow actually didn’t see the largest PFF grade climb year-over-year on his own team — that honor belongs to cornerback Chidobe Awuzie. Burrow is the choice here, though, because making the jump to elite status, like he did in only his second year in the NFL ranks, is rare to see. Not only was his 91.8 PFF grade in 2021 the highest among all quarterbacks for the season, but it was the second-best by a second-year quarterback in the PFF era (since 2006). Cincinnati can now say they have one of the few, elite franchise quarterbacks in the NFL, which is why I think we will see Burrow avenge this Super Bowl loss at some point in his career.