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The worst kept secret in the NFL is getting harder and harder to hide.
After crushing the media portion of his scouting combine agenda yesterday, Joe Burrow had his formal interview with the Cincinnati Bengals Wednesday afternoon. And according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com, it went pretty darn well:
During the 18-minute interview session, Burrow, looking more and more like he could be the Bengals’ next franchise quarterback, reportedly had an engaged give-and-take with everybody from Bengals president Mike Brown, head coach Zac Taylor, director of player personnel Duke Tobin and offensive coordinator Brian Callahan. One club official not among that group said it was the best interview he had ever attended.
Sounds like a great first impression to us.
Since the middle of January, Bengals coaches have had nothing but good things to say about Burrow when asked about him. Offensive coordinator Brian Callahan noted his pocket presence, creativity out of structure and downfield accuracy in an interview last month. He expressed similar praise for the 23-year old before meeting him for the first time.
“Either they have the feel or they don’t and Joe’s got it in spades. A great natural feel in the pocket,” Callahan said. “Guys I’ve been around, some have really great feel, some have OK feel. There are some things you can do to get better. You can drill it. But really, at the end of the day, it’s such a feel–based thing for quarterbacks. The guys that are the best at it keep their eyes downfield. They move and slide while getting the ball to different receivers. Those are the guys you can’t teach that.”
This is why Burrow came to Indianapolis. He will not throw tomorrow alongside the other quarterbacks during the on-field workout portion of the week because why would he? The team that’s all but certain to select him came into the combine impressed with him and they will return to Cincinnati even more impressed.
For Burrow and the Bengals, this was as good of a week as both could’ve imagined.