'Joe Burrow’s Biggest Accomplishment Ever Is Being 1–1 Against Patrick Mahomes in AFC Championship': Nick Wright Explains Why the Bengals Star Isn’t a Top-3 NFL QB

It’s officially ranking season in the NFL, and almost everyone (like league execs, from coaches to scouts, per ESPN) has Joe Burrow listed in their top 3 quarterbacks. Everyone… except analyst Nick Wright, who knocked the Cincinnati star down a peg for his lack of winning in recent seasons.

That’s right, when deciding to rewrite the general rankings, Wright had a bone to pick with Burrow. It’s not that he doesn’t like the Bengals QB or think he’s good; he just can’t place him in the top 3 category. But why is that? After all, Burrow has won Comeback Player of the Year twice and received MVP votes just as many times.

Still, it wasn’t his regular-season performances that Wright took issue with. It was Burrow’s lack of postseason appearances since reaching the Super Bowl that perturbed him, especially when comparing him to Lamar Jackson.

“I do not think it’s fair to penalize Lamar so much for bad playoff performances that he drops beneath a player who hasn’t been in the playoffs the last 2 years in Joe Burrow,” Wright stated on his show, What’s Wright?

It’s a solid argument to make. Even though Lamar has dropped the ball with a disappointing 3-5 playoff record, at least he’s been able to play in those games. Meanwhile, Burrow and the Bengals have been absent from the playoffs since 2022.

But it wasn’t just the failure to make the playoffs that hindered Wright’s outlook on Burrow. It’s also the slow starts, injuries, and lack of success despite having elite wide receivers.

“I love Joe, but he starts [the] years slowly. He does have an embarrassment of riches on the outside, catching the ball,” Wright pointed out. 

Additionally, Wright has a hard time ranking Burrow ahead of other winning quarterbacks like Jalen Hurts.

“If somebody says Jalen Hurts is 4, and what you’re losing in the prolific stats Joe Burrow gives you, you’re adding in toughness, availability, the tush push, and huge playoff moments. And Joe’s biggest accomplishment ever is being 1-1 against Patrick in AFC Championship games,” Wright argued.

With that in mind, Wright unveiled his own list of the top eight quarterbacks. And it looked quite different from most others.

“Here’s what my rankings would look like. If I were doing it, I would go one Patrick, two Josh, three Lamar, four Joe, five Stafford, six Jalen Hurts, seven with an asterisk of it’s probably too early, but I give it to him, Jayden Daniels. Eight, Baker.”

It’s a solid list, but what’s the deal with the Matthew Stafford ranking? Analysts seem to be overrating him, in our opinion. He’s had a solid past few seasons, but how can someone rank him over the guy who just beat him in the playoffs? Especially after making such a strong argument for Hurts over Burrow.

ESPN put out their ranking, made by real NFL executives, coaches, and scouts. They had Hurts ranked 9th! Is that not insane? They also had Stafford 6th, Lamar 4th, and Burrow 3rd. It seems like people are in love with the idea of some players rather than the production they’ve actually put on the resume. It’s strange, to say the least. 

Burrow belongs on this list. However, he certainly shouldn’t be ranked ahead of 2-time MVP Lamar Jackson, and a good argument can be made for Hurts over him as well. Hence, we believe Burrow is the 5th-best quarterback in the NFL right now. Then it’s Hurts at 4, and Lamar at 3.