6’4” – 216 lbs.
Father is former coach and pro player Jim Burrow, who most recently served as defensive coordinator at Ohio University. Also has at least four other relatives who played college sports. Originally attended Ohio St., where he redshirted in 2015, spending the following two seasons backing up J.T. Barrett. Decided to transfer to LSU in May 2018 after losing a quarterback competition to Dwayne Haskins. Took over the starting job with the Tigers in 2018 and threw for 2,894 yards (5.7%), 16 touchdowns, and five interceptions, rushing for another seven scores. Won the Heisman Trophy and national championship this past year after throwing for a staggering 5,671 yards (76.3%), 60 touchdowns, and six interceptions, rushing in another five touchdowns. This past season, the Tigers changed their offense to include more no-huddle looks, empty and single-back sets, and spread concepts; it has been influenced by Sean Payton’s offense, among others. Possesses prototypical size for a pro quarterback, although he may be asked to gain five or ten pounds of bulk. Often played out of the shotgun, making throws from three-step drops. Rhythm-based short passing game is his bread and butter, predominantly on slants, crossing routes, and swing passes. Does a good job of getting the ball out quickly, although he’s not limited to the short passing game, taking plenty of shots on intermediate or deep patterns, both inside and outside the hashes. Capable of scanning the field; regularly goes through progressions instead of locking onto his primary target. Makes good decisions with the ball, trusting his receivers to come up with the occasional grab on jump-balls but mostly finding open targets to minimize risk. Has a high release and gets adequate velocity on his throws, although he relies more on timing and anticipation than raw arm strength; steps into his passes with effective weight transfer when given a clean pocket, but will make some throws without setting his feet against pressure. Overall ball placement is very good, even when throwing on the move; passes are very catchable in terms of both accuracy and touch, although deep balls can sail at times. Scrambled or ran quarterback draws quite a bit, going both left and right. Not an elite athlete, but has enough speed to escape the pocket and pick up first downs with his feet; relatively more inclined to run when he faces pressure than some other pocket passers, although he also demonstrates the ability to keep his eyes up and locate targets underneath when moving to his right. Takes too many hits when scrambling and would benefit from protecting himself by sliding. The odds-on favorite to go number-one overall, he has the size, mental tools, accuracy, and touch to become a franchise quarterback, although it would be nice to see him stay in the pocket more frequently, and he lacks elite arm strength. Somewhat reminiscent of former number-one pick Sam Bradford.
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