2020 NFL Draft: Why Joe Burrow is more than a one-hit wonder

LSU enters the modern era of offense

After playing with some modern styles of offense in 2018, LSU brought in an offensive assistant from the New Orleans Saints named Joe Brady. Working alongside offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger, LSU moved to a spread offense that took advantage of their skill players, putting them in a position to succeed. Utilizing their running backs in the passing game, moving their receivers around to get favorable matchups, while using an uptick in play-action.

LSU became a quick-hitting offense getting the ball out of Burrow’s hand faster. Getting rid of the old fashioned heavy personnel packages almost entirely and switching to more 11 personnel packages, spreading their weapons out to fully maximize their playmaker’s abilities to create opportunities in space. He also took a significant amount of snaps out of shotgun instead of lining up under center.

Averaging roughly four more passes per game in 2019, Burrow’s accuracy dramatically increased. His completion percentage shot up to 77.9 percent. Usually, that indicates that the quarterback is making a significant number of dump passes to the flat on check-downs, but Burrow was just as deadly when attacking the deep portions of the field. His decision making and ability to read the defense saw a major improvement from 2018 to 2019. He showed discipline taking what the defense gave him instead of being overly aggressive or conservative.