The Cincinnati Bengals had a visitor during practice on Wednesday, former quarterback Jon Kitna who played the team for five seasons (2001-2005).
With his son by his side, Kitna watched Joe Burrow sling the ball around at Paycor Stadium Field. He would speak with Bengals’ senior writer Geoff Hobson, and he made an interesting comparison.
Kitna played for the Seattle Seahawks for four years, starting in 1997. That same year, Hall of Fame quarterback, Warren Moon, was signed by Seattle as well. Over his two seasons there, Kitna got to see Moon make a lot of throws, and he feels Burrow’s deep ball looks similar to his.
“I think it’s really hard in this league to consistently throw go routes,” said Kitna, via the team’s website. “In Seattle, it was like we were unstoppable.”
“It didn’t matter if he was throwing to (Joey) Galloway or (Mike) Pritchard or James McKnight.” “That’s what this kind of reminds of.”
“It can be any of them at any time. Down the field, back shoulder … the accuracy is off the charts.” The deep ball prowess of Moon helped him throw for 49,325 yards and 291 touchdowns during his 17-year NFL career (threw for 21,228 yards and 144 touchdowns in the CFL).
Burrow flourished throwing the ball deep in 2022. His 95.4 grade was second to Geno Smith, he ranked fourth in passer rating (117.8), and his eight deep ball passing touchdowns were tied for seventh, per Pro Football Focus.
Also, he only threw one interception on deep passes last season. This speaks to the timing and chemistry that Burrow has developed with Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd over the last three seasons.
“His football I.Q. has to be off the charts,’ Kintna said. “How fast he gets from his first read to his fourth read or his check down is phenomenal. His accuracy, ridiculous.”
Burrow currently has the NFL’s record for completion percentage at 68.2 so Kitna is right on the accuracy statement. On top of that, Burrow’s 2.0 interception percentage is tied for the seventh-lowest in NFL history.
.){kind=link}