Joe Burrow is AFC North’s only Tier 1 QB

There are certain tiers that a quarterback can be categorized into. Those at the top are the primary reason why their team wins while those at the bottom are usually the complete opposite. When it comes to Cincinnati Bengals starter Joe Burrow, he is considered among the best at the position.

A recently published list of quarterbacks appearing in The Athletic has taken on the task of categorizing them into their respective tiers. Joe Burrow has been classified as a Tier 1 quarterback according to Mike Sando. Burrow is the second-ranked quarterback behind only Patrick Mahomes, which is more than a fair assessment. But what is a Tier 1 quarterback exactly?

A Tier 1 quarterback can carry his team each week. The team wins because of him. He expertly handles pure passing situations. He has no real holes in his game.

This certainly sounds like Joe Burrow. Prior to the Bengals drafting Burrow, they were led by Andy Dalton for an extended period of time. While Cincinnati was relatively successful, there is a clear difference in the caliber of quarterback play between the two. Burrow is able to do things on the football field that Dalton could never dream of attempting. And as far as team success is concerned, Burrow has led the Bengals to a Super Bowl appearance while Dalton lost all four postseason games he appeared in.

Looking around the division, Lamar Jackson is just outside Tier 1 as he is ranked seventh while Deshaun Watson is in the bottom half of Tier 2 (11th). Kenny Pickett checks in at 25th, part of Tier 4, but his placement appears to be rooted in a lack of information rather than the overall poor play that has led to the likes of Baker Mayfield and Gardner Minshew ending up in the bottom tier of quarterbacks.

Joe Burrow should continue playing like one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Burrow has shown he is capable of leading the Bengals to the Super Bowl in the past. Perhaps he could do it again with a different and much more favorable result for Cincinnati.