Bengals’ rival player revives the rare comparison that seems to only find Joe Burrow in the NFL
Since even before he was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals, quarterback Joe Burrow has been the subject of a truly unfair comparison. An enemy from the AFC North was the latest to compare Burrow’s game to that of the greatest QB of all time during the NFL’s Top 100 Players of 2026.
Since even before he was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals, quarterback Joe Burrow has been the subject of a truly unfair comparison.
That is, of course, the comparison to Tom Brady.
An enemy from the AFC North was the latest to compare Burrow’s game to that of the greatest QB of all time during the NFL’s Top 100 Players of 2026.
Mike Green sees Tom Brady in Joe Burrow
Mike Green was just a rookie last year for the Baltimore Ravens. He played against Burrow twice, and even sacked him once. It didn’t take much exposure for him to see the parallels between the 29-year-old three-time Pro Bowler, and the seven-time Super Bowl champion.
“Burrow and Tom Brady, you could compare the two,” Green said on the program. “Like, they’re in the pocket, smart kind of quarterbacks. Pick up reads, and, like, blitzes easily.
“Yeah I kind of think that they play similar.”
The deeper into Burrow’s career, the more this comparison makes sense from a stylistic and intangible perspective. Brady was revered for his expert command of the pocket, the ability to get the ball out where it needed to go and for his killer instinct in the most important of moments.
Burrow displayed those traits during his historic 2019 campaign for LSU that led to both the Heisman Trophy and a perfect season ending in a College Football Playoff National Championship. It’s one thing to do it at the college level. It’s another thing entirely to translate that against the pros.
Why Brady’s name keeps following Burrow
The Bengals may not have won a Super Bowl yet with Burrow under center, but his peers have seen time and time again the play style and the mentality Burrow exhibits is undeniably similar to that of the future Hall of Famer.
“I feel like Joe Burrow is just kind of like super even the whole time,” linebacker Eric Kendricks said.
“Joe Ice,” Los Angeles Rams safety Quentin Lake said. “Pressure doesn’t get to him. He’s cool, calm, and collected in any environment and under any situation.”
There are other quarterbacks who have a great track record in performing under pressure. And yet, Burrow is really the only one that gets consistently compared to the G.O.A.T.
Even after a season in which burrow missed nine games with turf toe, Cincinnati’s franchise QB was still ranked the No. 44 player in the league by his peers.
The respect for him goes a long way. Even after all this time, it still reaches what could easily be considered an untouchable level.