Unless a meteor is set to hit the Earth that we don’t know about before Thursday, then we should expect to see Joe Burrow become the No. 1 overall draft pick by the Cincinnati Bengals.
Being the top overall pick in the NFL Draft brings an enormous amount of expectations and responsibilities, which is why the incoming rookie sought out advice from Peyton Manning.
Appearing on SportsCenter, Manning revealed that he spoke to Burrow last week about handling his rookie season and while he gave him good advice on how to handle himself, he also gave them all clear to break his record for 28 interceptions in a rookie season.
“Yeah, Joe called me last week. Obviously we have somewhat of a relationship since he came down to our football camp last summer. I try to stay in touch with all the quarterbacks that come down to the camp if I can be a resource for them, especially as they approach their NFL dreams, but what an exciting year Joe had. He called me about some of the things that I tried to do when I was a rookie that maybe he can apply to his NFL career, looks like it’s going to be with to Cincinnati Bengals, and look when I told him I said: ‘Joe, when you’re the first pick in the NFL draft, you are going to a team that has really earned the first pick in the NFL draft.’ There are going to be so some holes there, and there’s a reason the Colts were picking number one that year. There’s a reason the Bengals are picking number one this year. … So other people have to step up, have to give him some help. But for him I tried to tell him it’s a marathon, not a sprint.
“Look I lost more games my rookie year than I had my entire high school and college career combined. I threw 28 interceptions—that’s still an NFL record. If Joe wants to break that, Hannah, I’d be OK with that. We’d still be friends. But I tried to learn a lot that year. I played every game. Jim Mora never took me out, I learned some things in the fourth quarter of those blowouts about what it took to be an NFL quarterback, and the next year we went from 3-13 to 13-3. That wouldn’t have happened had I not hung in there and kind of learned the ropes as a rookie even though he took some bumps and bruises. So that’s what I tried to encourage Joe and all the NFL quarterbacks, that your rookie year is not gonna be the same as your senior year in college, but if you learn how fast these defensive backs are, how soon you have to get rid of the ball, understand defenses, you can become a better player and really get it going or year or two after that.”
The Colts went 3-13 that year, one of only two losing seasons Manning would have in his NFL career.
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Joe Burrow is coming off a spectacular 2019 season with the LSU Tigers. It was a season that saw him throw for 5,671 yards and an NCAA-record 60 touchdowns against six interceptions while leading LSU to a national championship.
