ESPN recently broke down the top quarterbacks in the NFL, ranking them by arm strength, touch, accuracy, mechanics, etc.

Most of the rankings made sense. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers ranked No. 1 in accuracy while Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen ranked No. 1 in arm strength.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow ranked near the top of almost every list (except arm strength and designed run abilities).

But there was one particular list where I felt Burrow should've been a couple of spots higher.

One of the categories was "compete level". Unsurprisingly, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady ranked No. 1.

Burrow ranked No. 5, below Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Aaron Rodgers.

I think I've seen enough from Burrow — dating back to his days at LSU — to put the Bengals quarterback at No. 2 on that list.

Some might think it's a stretch to put Burrow above a future Hall of Famer like Rodgers. I can certainly see that argument. But even if you feel that way, there's no doubt that Burrow should be above Allen on this list.

Allen has incredible physical skills. He's a great quarterback that could possibly win NFL MVP one year. But he's not more competitive than Burrow.

When I see Burrow on the field, I see a young Brady. An ultra-competitive, elite leader that doesn't have to force it. That's just who Burrow is. And it's the exact reason why he was able to lead the Bengals to a Super Bowl appearance last season. Cincinnati had no business reaching the Super Bowl in Burrow's second season.

Burrow's "compete level", however, got them there.

I should point out that one ESPN employee — Mina Kimes — thought Burrow should've been ranked higher.

From ESPN:

I might be guilty of recency bias here, but I would consider ranking Joe Burrow in the top three after he willed his team through the playoffs despite getting absolutely obliterated behind the Bengals' lackluster offensive line. He took 51 sacks during the 2021 season and then 19 more in the playoffs. Both numbers led the league.

Burrow is the ultimate competitor. Just the way he carries himself is different than a lot of quarterbacks in the NFL. He still has a long NFL career ahead of him and we don't know how it'll play out. But so far, he truly looks like a generational quarterback.

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