ESPN analyst delivers wild hot take about Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow

Joe Burrow is coming off the best game of his career, and he has proven to this point that he is more than worthy of the first overall pick the Cincinnati Bengals used on him last year. Most people would say Burrow is still a long way from being compared to a quarterback like Patrick Mahomes, however. Apparently Damien Woody is not most people.

During Thursday’s edition of ESPN’s “First Take,” Woody was asked if he would rather have Burrow or Mahomes as his quarterback for the next five years. He chose Burrow.

.@damienwoody would take Joe Burrow over Patrick Mahomes over the next five years.

“I’m gonna go with Joe Burrow!” pic.twitter.com/jRDCMkxT7V

— First Take (@FirstTake) December 30, 2021

“We know about the talent of Patrick Mahomes. We see the no-look passes. We see all the off-platform stuff that a lot of us have never seen before out of the quarterback position. … Sometimes it’s about the intangibles,” Woody said. “What Joe Burrow has done for, not just that Cincinnati offense, but the whole organization, it’s almost like he’s brought a chip on his shoulder to the whole organization.

“When you talk about the quarterback position, a lot of it is about being a leader of men. Joe Burrow really instills that within this Bengals offense.”

Does Mahomes lack intangibles? There was nothing Woody said about Burrow that anyone would argue with. But the question was if he would rather have Burrow or Mahomes for the next five years. Burrow’s younger than Mahomes, but the Kansas City Chiefs star is still just 26. He has already won a Super Bowl and an NFL MVP Award. Mahomes has played in two Super Bowls.

Mahomes and the Chiefs are having a down year offensively by their own standards, and Mahomes still has 4,310 yards, 33 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Burrow has 4,165 yards, 30 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

Could Burrow wind up having a better career than Mahomes? It’s certainly possible, but saying you would take the former over the latter for the next five years is the definition of a piping hot take. Then again, Woody was just doing his job.

Photo: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports