With the retirement — we think — of Tom Brady, questions naturally turn to who might take his crown as the NFL's greatest quarterback.
And there are a host of quality young players who deserve to be in the conversation.
Patrick Mahomes has already played in two Super Bowls for the Chiefs, winning one before the age of 27. Josh Allen is a rising star and looks to be a long-term force in Buffalo. Justin Herbert with the Chargers, Lamar Jackson with the Ravens and Dak Prescott in Dallas could also be in the running.
The most likely possibility, however, could be a young quarterback who is playing in the Super Bowl in just his second season — Cincinnati's Joe Burrow.
Burrow has only played two seasons — and his first was limited to 10 games due to a knee injury — so the case is far from closed, and it's difficult to compare him to a surefire Hall of Famer who played 22 seasons. But there are some promising signs so far, including the fact that Burrow actually leads Brady in some non-counting stats, including completion percentage (68.2% to 64.2%), passer rating (100.2 to 97.6) and passing yards per game (280.7 to 265.8).
And there is another area in which Burrow might compare favorably to Brady, something that is hard to quantify or put your finger on, something that is more intangible in nature.
Skip Bayless explained it on his podcast, "The Skip Bayless Show."
"A better feel for playing QB than Patrick Mahomes"
"There's just something about Joe Burrow," he said. "I said this after Brady lost to the Rams, [the] closest thing we have left to Tom Brady [in the playoffs] is Joe Burrow.
"Joe Burrow just has the gift for playing quarterback. It's not particularly flashy or splashy, he just gets how to do it. … He has the gift of speed-reading, finding the most open receiver quicker than anybody else can find, and delivering a pass with above-average velocity, that is so imminently catchable that it almost catches you for a receiver. Sweet balls, right on time, right on target.
"That's hard to do on a consistent basis, and he does it as well as any of the young quarterbacks compared to Brady."
To be clear, Bayless does not think that Burrow will ever match Brady — he considers that an impossible bar — and he believes Burrow's longevity could be an issue due to his willingness to take a hit. But he said he believes Burrow is the closest to Brady currently in the league.
"He has a better feel for playing the position than Mahomes does. Or Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, or Lamar Jackson. He just has a better feel, and that's why I give him a good shot of winning this Super Bowl.
"I also think he's got that natural-born Tom Brady-esque leadership gene in him, that you can't quite explain. Players follow him into battle because they trust him in battle. He's been on the biggest stages."
Indeed, Rob Gronkowski has said if there was a post-Brady quarterback he would want to play with, it would be Burrow.
Legacies are built over time, so it will be a while before Burrow does end up achieving greatness in a Brady-esque vein. Sunday's Super Bowl could be a great place to start.
Joe Burrow's swag is like Macaulay Culkin's in "Home Alone"
You can watch the "The Skip Bayless Show" on YouTube or subscribe on podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts.
