Joe Burrow is still a month away from knowing the identity of his NFL team, but that hasn’t stopped him from being the runaway favorite to win the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award.
The Heisman Trophy- and national championship-winning quarterback is widely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick by the Cincinnati Bengals when the draft gets underway April 23. Burrow was born in Ames, Iowa, but went to high school in The Plains, Ohio.
After three seasons as a backup at Ohio State, Burrow transferred to LSU and put together one of the great seasons in recent history — with some calling it one of the best seasons by a collegiate quarterback ever.
Burrow threw for 5,671 yards and 60 touchdowns with only six interceptions, leading the Tigers to a perfect 15-0 season.
Per odds posted by Bet MGM, Burrow is a +200 (2-to-1 odds) to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. Then comes a big drop to the next names on the list, with Georgia running back D’Andre Swift and Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor netting +750 odds. The next quarterback on the list, Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa, is fourth at +900. A pair of receivers round out the top five — Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb and Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy, both at +1200.
Many expect Miami to take Tagovailoa with the No. 5 pick. Tagovailoa saw his season cut short by a hip injury. He underwent a lengthy physical exam at the NFL Scouting Combine in February. Tagovailoa said at the time he was away from the player hotel from 10 a.m. until just shy of 8 p.m. for the examination in Indianapolis. All NFL team doctors are issued results of those tests.
The draft was originally scheduled to take place on the Las Vegas Strip but the NFL scrapped that plan as the coronavirus pandemic grew. Instead, the league will hold the draft in a studio setting. Players will be interviewed via video conference and other guests — college coaches and some NFL coaches and staff — are expected, using the same technology.
