On Saturday, USC quarterback Caleb Williams became the 19th passer — and the eighth Trojan, if you count Reggie Bush, which we do and always will — to win the Heisman Trophy.
As the most prestigious individual award in the sport, you would think it would prove to be a decent bellwether for NFL success. However, that hasn’t exactly been the case historically.
More Heisman winners have gone undrafted (15) than made the Pro Football Hall of Fame (10). It’s not surprising then that Joe Burrow, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2019 at LSU and already looks like one of the top young quarterbacks in the NFL, leading the Cincinnati Bengals to a Super Bowl appearance in 2021, has already been one of the most successful in recent memory.
In a ranking of the last 25 Heisman winners in terms of NFL success from USA TODAY Sports, Burrow came in fourth despite having just two full seasons and change under his belt at the professional level.
Year: 2019 (LSU)
NFL accolades: No. 1 overall pick in 2020 draft, 2021 comeback player of the year
After a knee injury cut short his rookie season, Burrow helped the Cincinnati Bengals make an unexpected run to Super Bowl 56. While leading the NFL in 2021 with a 70.4 completion percentage, Burrow threw for 4,611 yards and 34 touchdowns. In 10 starts during the 2020 season, Burrow had five games with 300-plus passing yards, including one 400-yard game in which he became the first rookie in NFL history with 350-plus passing yards, three passing TDs and a rushing TD in the same game.
Burrow certainly still has some room to grow if he’s going to reach elite status, but he’s on the inside track and has already proven to be a valuable first-overall selection for the Bengals, with whom he ended the NFL’s longest postseason victory drought last season.
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