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Joe Burrow is coming off a year where he took the Cincinnati Bengals to an appearance in Super Bowl 56. They came up just short against the Los Angeles Rams, but the future is looking bright for Cincy. The Bengals helped him out in the offseason by upgrading his offensive line to try to limit the number of times that he gets hit in the backfield.
Burrow will still have Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd as his primary receiver. With an upgraded line? He could be in line for a big year for fantasy football. Cincinnati still has Joe Mixon in the backfield and will likely rely on him to set up their run game. Even so, with an improved offensive line, Burrow will still have a ton of upside and projects as a top fantasy football quarterback.
Burrow did need to have his appendix taken out just as training camp started up. It isn’t great news, but the timeline for his recovery should give him a week or two of practice before heading into Week 1.
2021 season statistics & fantasy finish
Passing: Burrow completed 366 of his 520 passing attempts for a 70.4% completion percentage. He threw for 4,611 yards and 34 touchdowns with 14 interceptions.
Rushing: Burrow didn’t do much rushing in 2021. He ran only 40 times for 118 yards and two touchdowns.
Fantasy: Finished as the overall QB9 with 314.24 fantasy points. His 19.6 fantasy points per game ranked ninth among quarterbacks that played in at least 13 games.
Bengals offseason moves
Head coach Zac Taylor earned a five-year contract extension with the team’s performance last year. In the offseason, the Bengals signed guard Alex Cappa, offensive lineman Ted Karras and offensive lineman La’el Collins. Other than an improved line, Cincinnati replaced former tight end C.J. Uzomah with Hayden Hurst to round out their main signings.
2022 best-case scenario
Burrow doesn’t have the rushing upside that guys like Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen have. He rushed three more times in six fewer games in 2021 and has shown that his dominance will be from the pocket. With his supporting cast and more protection, Burrow could finish as a top-three quarterback in fantasy football.
2022 worst-case scenario
Barring another injury, Burrow has a pretty high floor. He arguably has the best wide receiver trio in the league and it would be shocking if he got hit more in the backfield this year than last. The only way that his fantasy football value drops is if Cincinnati didn’t learn anything from the 2021 postseason and decides to feed Mixon the ball even heavier than before. Even if this were the case, Burrow still should be able to finish as a top-12 quarterback in fantasy football.
2022 prediction
If the Bengals play up to their potential, Burrow will repeat as a top-10 fantasy quarterback. It is wild to think that Chase could have the ability to take a step forward in his second year. Higgins will be heading into his third year and Boyd has developed a great rapport with Burrow. I don’t think that Burrow will finish as a top-three quarterback, but I do think he will finish top-seven and be on a lot of league winning teams.