Bengals' Joe Burrow discusses teams starting, sitting rookie QBs

The Cincinnati Bengals made quarterback Joe Burrow the first overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft and wasted little time in naming him their Week 1 starter for his rookie season. 

Following Thursday's joint practice involving the Bengals and Chicago Bears, Burrow spoke about the Bears making a similar decision regarding rookie and first-overall selection Caleb Williams. 

"I’ll never quite understand when you draft a guy that you know is going to be your starter, but then you don’t name him your starter immediately," Burrow explained, as The Athletic's Jon Greenberg shared. "And so then he misses out on all those reps with the ones that you would have had had you just come in as the starter." 

Of course, there is no perfect science for properly developing young signal-callers at the highest level. For years, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has spoken openly about how Patrick Mahomes sitting behind then-starter Alex Smith for the majority of Mahomes' first pro season helped make him the generational player he is today. Meanwhile, DraftKings Sportsbook listed C.J. Stroud of the Houston Texans tied for second among the betting favorites at +850 odds to win the 2024 regular-season Most Valuable Player Award roughly 12 months after Houston named Stroud its opening day starter as a rookie. 

"That’s what was great about my situation," Burrow continued. "[Head coach Zac Taylor] told me I was the starter as soon as I got drafted and I got all those reps with the ones in training camp — we didn’t have [organized team activities that year due to the pandemic]. Those reps are so valuable, and every rep you grow and you learn so much from. I think that’s always a challenge if that doesn’t happen." 

The Bears have been all-in on playing Williams right away ever since they traded Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers in March. As of Friday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had Williams as the betting favorite at +135 odds to claim Offensive Rookie of the Year Award honors for the upcoming campaign. 

Burrow advised Williams and others about transitioning from college to the NFL. 

"I think what separates people is when you can maintain a levelheaded, even-keel aura, personality, whatever you want to call it," Burrow said. "There’s going to be ups and downs. But can you come back the next day and go about your process the same way you did the week before whether you won or whether you’ve lost. Whether you threw four picks or you had five touchdowns. You just have to have the mindset at the end of the day that you’re going to be better." 

 Teammates seem confident Williams is up to the task, beginning with Chicago's regular-season opener versus the Tennessee Titans on Sept. 8.