2020 NFL Draft: Grading every first-round pick after rookie year

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Joe Burrow (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /

Grading every rookie from the 2020 NFL Draft: Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals

2020 stats:

2,688 passing yards
13 TDs, 5 INTs
65.3 completion percentage
89.8 passer rating
3 rushing TDs

For a number one overall pick, just about everyone had mixed feelings about Joe Burrow. Sure the stats he put up over at LSU were eye-catching and there’s no question that he had arguably the greatest season for a college quarterback of all-time. Let’s not forget that he broke nearly every SEC record, most notably becoming the first signal-caller to throw for over 4,000 yards and 40 touchdowns in the same year, but still, not everyone was sold on him. It could be because his team was loaded with talent all over the field. It also could be because he entered the league at the age of 23.

Whatever the case is, for a number one overall pick, Burrow was more so viewed as a good not great prospect. Now though, after taking a hard look at him during his truncated season due to injury, the kid is much better than expected.

The darts he threw all over the field in the college looked eerily similar to what he was doing on the pro level. His three consecutive games throwing for over 300 yards put everyone around the league on notice. The numbers may have been great but the wins certainly weren’t there as he won only two out of the ten he played.

But still, a 31-20 win over the Tennessee Titans offers a bit of hope that with time, he can turn into a winning player.

It isn’t going to be easy for him to bounce back from the horrific ACL and MCL injury he suffered but, future performances aren’t of importance with these grades. If we’re going by just what he did on the field, his grade has to be a really high one.

Grade: A+

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