NFL media can’t stop comparing Joe Burrow to Tom Brady

Joe Burrow is getting tons of praise for his performance in leading the Cincinnati Bengals to their first playoff win in 31 years on Saturday. Even so, ESPN NFL analyst Rex Ryan is more than willing to hype Burrow to the moon and back, calling Burrow “the next Tom Brady” on Sunday Morning’s NFL Countdown.

“To me, you wanna see the next Tom Brady? You’re looking at him right here,” Ryan said. “You know what, it’s not too big for him. The Bengals haven’t been there. This kid has. He’s won a National Championship, won the Heisman Trophy, he’s a great draft pick for a local kid, he could care less who he plays, and to me that’s Tom Brady.”

Hey look, Burrow has been a superstar so far for the Bengals. He threw for 244 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday in the playoff win and he’s got Cincinnati looking as good as they’ve looked in decades. But let’s pump the brakes a bit on the whole “next Tom Brady” thing. Burrow hasn’t won one Super Bowl, let alone seven. You kinda have to at least get a couple under your belt before you start getting that kind of comparison.

To be fair, Ryan isn’t the only media person trying to make the connection between Burrow and Brady. Here’s Colin Cowherd earlier in the week.

And Sam Acho and Domonique Foxworth recently discussed whether or not it was fair to compare Burrow to a young Tom Brady.

While the Super Bowl rings discussion is one thing, plenty of people seem to see a lot of skill and determination in the Bengals quarterback that reminds them of the Hall of Famer. We’ll see how his NFL career pans out and whether or not he can rack up some championships, too.

[Rex Ryan]