Ranking AFC North teams by quarterback situation: Steelers fall to bottom
By Lucas Schuh
No. 2 AFC North quarterback situaton: Cincinnati Bengals
Projected Starter: Joe Burrow
Backups: Jake Dolegala, Ryan Finley
Good-not-great was the name of the game in Cincinnati with Andy Dalton under center. He was seemingly always solid and led the Bengals to the playoffs on a number of occasions. Nothing ever came from it, though, as they failed to capture a win. Then, after years of postseason appearances, everything seemed to collapse as the Bengals finished 2-14 last year.
That record landed the Bengals the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, which thus landed them Joe Burrow, fresh off of winning the Heisman Trophy after a historic season at LSU. Entering last year, Burrow had played just one season for the Tigers and was nothing special. 5,671 yards, 60 touchdowns and a National Championship later, though, he did plenty of special things.
While the future is bright in the Queen City now that Burrow has arrived, there isn’t much to be positive about with the backup quarterbacks. Cincinnati has two on the roster and Ryan Finley would likely be the one to come in should something happen to Burrow. Of course, Finley played three games as a rookie last year and was downright bad in those showings.
Burrow likely won’t dominate the NFL in his first season. Frankly, it’s exceedingly rare to see a rookie show that kind of form. The future, however, looks great. Burrow has shown all the signs of elite quarterback play that should translate to the professional ranks and not just give the Bengals a franchise quarterback but a bonafide upgrade over what Dalton brought to the table.