2020 NFL Draft: Could LSU’s Joe Burrow be a riser?
Joe Burrow is very unlikely to be a top quarterback in the 2020 NFL Draft, but is there the possibility of the LSU Tiger rising with a strong senior season?
LSU has not been a breeding ground for top quarterbacks in recent times and, in what could be a loaded 2020 NFL Draft at the position, Joe Burrow will not be expected to be a name on many people’s lips come next April.
The senior is coming off a solid first season with the Tigers following a transfer from Ohio State but at this stage is unlikely to be seen as anything other than a possible late-round pick.
There may be potential for that to change, however, with The Athletic’s Max Olson believing the arrival of Joe Brady as LSU’s passing game coordinator should impact Burrow in a “big way”.
Brady has certainly had the seasoning to have a transformative impact on Burrow, having spent the last two years working as an offensive assistant for the New Orleans Saints. He previously worked with a potent collegiate attack, serving as a graduate assistant at Penn State for two years.
Working with one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL will surely have given Brady plenty of knowledge as to how to tailor a scheme to a quarterback.
Per Brooks Kubena of The Advocate, Brady has been endorsed by Saints head coach Sean Payton and wowed LSU’s staff with his understanding of scheme when he and New Orleans offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael visited the Tigers’ facility last summer.
That all bodes well for Burrow, who managed the game very well for LSU in 2018 and threw 16 touchdowns to just five interceptions. The LSU offense, however, looked like one that often operated with the handbrake applied and lacked the firepower to challenge for the SEC title.
It will be up to Brady to find ways in which LSU can present more of a danger through the air. If he succeeds in doing so, Burrow’s numbers and his stock should rise.
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Burrow is not going to be considered among the top quarterbacks in the 2020 class barring a truly spectacular season. Yet if Olson’s assessment of Brady is correct and Burrow enjoys a senior season similar to Ryan Finley’s 2018 campaign — in which the former NC State signal-caller threw for 3,928 yards and 25 touchdowns with 11 interceptions — then like Finley he could be viewed as an NFL backup worthy of being an early pick on day three.