Presumptive No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft Joe Burrow is getting some pre-draft advice from none other than Peyton Manning.
Talking about the advice he gave Burrow, Manning divulged he wouldn’t mind in the least if the future Cincinnati Bengals quarterback breaks one of his NFL records.
That’s classic Manning humor, to be sure. It also highlights how the NFL is so much different today than it was a couple decades ago. As we know, Manning went on to put together one of the most legendary careers in history. If a rookie threw 28 interceptions nowadays, it’s hard to imagine he’d be seen as franchise quarterback material.
Aside from the joke about interceptions, Manning also did quite a bit more to help Burrow prepare for the struggles he’ll inevitably face as the leader of a team picking No. 1 overall.
“He asked me about some of he things that I tried to do when I was a rookie that maybe he can apply to his NFL career — looks like it’s going to be with the Cincinnati Bengals,” Manning said, per Pro Football Talk. “I told him, Joe, when you’re the first pick in the NFL draft, you’re going to a team that has really earned the first pick in the NFL draft. There are going to be some holes there. There was a reason the Colts were picking No. 1 that year, there’s a reason the Bengals are picking No. 1 this year.”
Truer words ne’er spoken.
It’s going to be fascinating to see if Burrow can transform Cincinnati into a perennial winner in the coming years, assuming he is selected by the Bengals atop the draft.