Joe Burrow Ranking Sixth In The NFL Top 100 Is Confusing, But Not Because He Was Predictably Sold Short

There are about to be some confused-ass debates around the toxic cesspool of social media and comments sections about the haters of Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals. 

First of all, I don't understand how anyone could despise Joe Brrr unless they're a Chiefs fan. The guy is the definition of cool without even trying to be. Any bold fashion choice he makes somehow works. Every single offseason of injury-induced adversity hasn't fazed him. Five playoff wins in two full seasons as a starter. Not making a big to-do about his major contract extension. He's all about ball.

Burrow has transformed the Bengals into a perennial AFC contender in pretty much no time at all. Everyone knows his unique journey from relative obscurity at Ohio State to natty champ/Heisman winner at LSU to franchise savior in Cincinnati. Apparently that wasn't enough to convince his NFL peers that he's a top-five player.

Quarterbacks should pretty much take over the entire top five. They touch the ball every play on offense and have the most influence on the outcome of a game. But that's neither here nor there. Putting Burrow behind Jalen Hurts is a case of recency bias that can be forgiven. After all, these are annual rankings. I won't really talk about why Burrow should be No. 2 even though he absolutely should be.

Here's where the confusion sets in: Those who agree with Burrow's ranking or think he's overrated often label him a "weapons merchant." As in, he'd be nothing without the elite supporting cast around him and the best trio of wideouts in football.

Another school of thought that is down on the Joey B hype believes he's been carried by the Bengals' defense to playoff success. Idiots will trot out this admittedly eyebrow-raising Kirk Cousins comparative graphic and close the case.

Weird then, that the only other Bengals on the top 100 are Ja'Marr Chase — all the way down at No. 39 — and pass-rusher Trey Hendrickson at 75th. If we're really going to take the list at face value, too, Captain Kirk checks in at 42nd. 

The 13-4 Vikings of 2022 had three top-100 defenders on their squad in Za'Darius Smith, Eric Kendricks and Harrison Smith. Every single level of their defense. They also had Justin Jefferson, the second-best player in all of football, and tailback Dalvin Cook qualify for the top 100.

Chase was Cincinnati's only representative from its allegedly great receiving triumvirate. Guess the rest of the NFL doesn't view them that way! Nowhere to be found in the top 100 were Tee Higgins or Tyler Boyd. Nor was any other player from that Bengals defense that allegedly "carries" Burrow to all his accomplishments.

ESPN ranked the Bengals with the 30th-best pass block win rate last year, whereas the Vikings were 22nd. Nobody really talks about Cincinnati's offensive line woes as much anymore. Part of that is this offseason's acquisition of Orlando Brown Jr., but another reason is Burrow routinely overcomes piss-poor pass protection to still ball out at an elite level.

But seriously, which is it y'all? Is Joe Burrow and his one-top-100-player defense carrying him to 100+ passer ratings? Or does his one top-100 weapon who apparently can't even crack the top 35 league-wide negate and discredit everything he's accomplished? 

I'm just asking. And I'm only going off this list as voted by the players. Do you see how something's not adding up here!?

All anyone really wants to do is hate, though. Discredit the Bengals every which way. Downplay all their recent playoff success because it hasn't yet culminated in a Super Bowl. 

I say bring it on. Just keep fueling the fire and slighting the likes of Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase. Damn I can't wait for Joe to get right from this stupid calf injury and help Ja'Marr lead the NFL in receiving yards.

Twitter @MattFitz_gerald/TikTok