It’s Time For Cincinnati To Stop Chasing Toys
Mandatory Credit: Kareem Elgazzar-USA TODAY Sports
When Joe Burrow went down for the 2023 season, the comparisons to Andrew Luck once again took the spotlight.
#Colts QB Andrew Luck retired early from the NFL at age 29 after suffering countless injuries.
He was sacked 115 times in 55 games.
Joe Burrow has already been sacked 148 times in 52 games ❗
Burrow already suffered two season-ending injuries in his 4-year career.
(h/t… https://t.co/3zaupVp5Jj pic.twitter.com/KVBh7eamkB
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) November 18, 2023
It’s a troubling sight for the city of Cincinnati, who is not only hoping for its first pro sports championship since 1990, but for its first Super Bowl ring for its beloved Bengals franchise.
Cincinnati has attempted to build an exciting, playmaking offense to maximize Joe Burrow’s talent, and for the most part they’ve been successful at that. Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Marvin Lewis-era draft selection Tyler Boyd have been one of the best receiving trios in the NFL over the last few years. However, while investing high picks in targets has been exciting, it has come at a cost – a severe lack of protection.
Since 2020, Joe Burrow is the second most sacked quarterback in the NFL, as he’s taken 148 sacks in that time span (only Russell Wilson has taken more). His current offensive line, while being the sixth-highest paid line in the NFL in 2023, was also determined to be by far the least athletic.
Average NFL OL athleticism (by RAS) plotted against PFF production this year.
Data from @MathBomb continues to be one of the best resources out there.
I knew the Bengals line was unathletic but the reality is they’re not even close to the rest of the league.
This is damning. pic.twitter.com/OfgyNE6iye
— Gridiron Grading (@GridironGrading) November 17, 2023
While Cincinnati has done some spending in free agency to try and piece together a steady offensive line for Joe Burrow, very little has been done to select top offensive line prospects in the draft. Since Burrow was drafted in 2020, the Bengals have only spent one pick in rounds 1-3 on an offensive lineman. That pick was used to select Jackson Carman in the second round of the 2021 draft. It was arguably the worst draft pick by the Bengals so far in this decade, as Carman has spent the majority of the 2023 season as a healthy scratch.
The Bengals are widely expected to lose Tee Higgins in this upcoming offseason, as his contract will be too massive for the Bengals to afford in the future years.
I’m officially on the Tee Higgins to New England in 2024 agenda.
Higgins would be the WR1 on possibly 20 different #NFL teams as we speak. He’s without a doubt an under appreciated talent.
— PGS NEST (@NestPgs) December 6, 2022
While losing Higgins would be a massive loss for Cincinnati, we have seen what Joe Burrow is able to do even in games where Higgins is not on the field. For example, in the game against Houston, Burrow managed to throw for 347 yards and two touchdowns (yes, he also threw two picks, but the point still stands). Players such as Tyler Boyd and Trenton Irwin, who have always been able to step up as needed, did as such in the absence of the Clemson star.
The Bengals have watched Joe Burrow, their prized investment, go down with a season ending injury in two of his first four years in the league. It’s a frustrating trend for a player who, when healthy, is one of the best quarterbacks on the planet.
Incredible.
The understanding Ja’Marr Chase has for this sport is incredible.
And Joe Burrow. pic.twitter.com/GCh4Uujvl5
— Nati Sports (@Nati_Sports) November 12, 2023
For the Bengals to best protect the future of its biggest star, investments should be reallocated to the rest of the team, as opposed to continuing to attempt to give Burrow talented-but-costly players to throw to.
A blueprint for the “Not always investing in exciting toys and trusting your QB” operation is the Kansas City Chiefs. Once they signed Patrick Mahomes to his massive contract extension, they knew they had to make tough choices. They traded his number one target, Tyreek Hill, to Miami for a massive haul of draft picks. They used those picks, in addition to the picks they already had, to invest heavily in the future of their team, rather than allocating heavy money into a few star players and the rest into mid-tier ones.
They’ve also invested heavily in their offensive line, which has paid dividends. Some of their biggest investments include Creed Humphrey, who was an absolute home run of a second round draft pick in 2021, and Joe Thuney and Jawaan Taylor, who were both signed to separate $80 million contracts in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Because of these investments, Mahomes has taken 60 fewer sacks than Burrow since 2020, despite having played in six more games.
Because of these moves, not only do they have the NFL’s best quarterback in Mahomes, but they also have allowed the fewest points out of any NFL team in 2023. It’s an absolute nightmare matchup for any team.
The Bengals no longer have the luxury of having Joe Burrow on a rookie contract, as he gets a significant pay raise following the expiration of his rookie contract. Yes, the Bengals have the sixth-highest paid offensive line in the NFL, but that’s due in large part to the fact that only one of the starters, Cordell Volson, is on a rookie deal. As much as Cincinnati has tried to sign free agents to give Burrow protection, it has still been a tough task.
Joe Burrow is the kind of quarterback that can maximize the potential of the wide receivers. Part of believing in your franchise QB is believing that he can be effective in the passing game without needing all of his targets to be superhuman. As much as every quarterback would love elite playmaking targets, an elite o-line allows the entire offense, including the passing game, to cook.
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