Former LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, the presumptive No. 1 pick in the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft, recently called soon-to-be Hall of Fame QB Peyton Manning to talk about what it was like being a rookie signal-caller in the NFL.
Burrow is expected to go to the Cincinnati Bengals with the top pick of the draft. Manning, on the other hand, was the No. 1 overall draft selection by the Indianapolis Colts in 1998.
“He called me about some of the things that I tried to do as a rookie that maybe he can apply to his NFL career,” Manning said Sunday on ESPN. “Looks like it’s going to be for the Cincinnati Bengals. What I told him: ‘Look, Joe, if you’re the first pick in the NFL Draft, you are going to a team that has earned the first pick in the NFL Draft. There are going to be some holes there. There’s a reason the Colts were picking No. 1 that year. There’s a reason the Bengals are picking No. 1 this year.'”
Manning, who finished his career with five NFL MVPs and two Super Bowl titles, took over a Colts team that was coming off a 3-13 season. During his first year as the starter for Indianapolis, Manning threw a rookie-record 28 interceptions and led the Colts to a 3-13 record. In his second full season as the franchise’s starting quarterback, he turned the Colts around, and led them to a 13-3 record.
“I threw 28 interceptions my first year. That’s still an NFL record. If Joe wants to break that, I’d be OK with that, we’d still be friends,” Manning said.
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Burrow, like Manning, will have his work cut out for him assuming he’s the top selection in the NFL Draft. He would potentially take over at quarterback for a Bengals team that went 2-14 last season. The Bengals as a franchise, haven’t won a playoff game since 1990. Burrow led LSU to a national championship during his stellar senior season. His rookie season in the NFL won’t be as easy as his senior year during college, but Manning told him that his rookie season will be important for his development.
“[Then-Colts coach] Jim Mora never took me out,” Manning said. “I learned some things in the fourth quarter of those blowouts about what it took to be an NFL quarterback, and the next year we went from 3-13 to 13-3. That wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t have hung in there and learned the ropes as a rookie, even though we took some bumps and bruises.
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“So that’s what I tried to encourage Joe and all the other rookie quarterbacks … that your rookie year is not going to be the same as your senior year in college,” Manning added. “But if you learn how fast the defensive backs are, how soon you have to get rid of the ball, understand defenses, you can become a better player and really get it going the year or two after that.”