In 2012 Andrew Luck stepped onto the scene and put together the greatest rookie year in NFL history. He passed for 4,374 yards, 23 TDs and 18 INTs. He also ran for 255 yards and 5 TDs. AS A ROOKIE! The Colts went 11-5 that year but lost in the Wild Card game to the Ravens 24-9.
The reason that Andrew Luck was so successful in his rookie season was the wide receivers, led by Reggie Wayne and Donnie Avery but also a fantastic offensive line. On the defensive side of the ball they had excellent linebackers but the rest of the team was a bit pedestrian. A lot of pundits like Colin Cowherd are jumping on Burrow saying that he is going to get “mauled” (clever Colin) his rookie year and that Luck had so much more around him to win. So I took a looksy and compared:
| 2012 Colts | 2020 Bengals | Edge |
| QB | ||
| Andrew Luck | Joe Burrow | Bengals |
| RB | ||
| Vick Ballard | Joe Mixon | Bengals |
| WR | ||
| Donnie Avery | Tyler Boyd | Bengals |
| Reggie Wayne | AJ Green | Colts |
| T.Y. Hilton | Tee Higgins | Bengals |
| TE | ||
| Dwayne Allen | CJ Uzomah | Colts |
| OL | ||
| Anthony Castonzo | Jonah Williams | Colts |
| Joe Reitz | Michael Jordan | Colts |
| Samson Satele | Trey Hopkins | Bengals |
| Mike McGlynn | Xavier Su’a-Filo | Colts |
| Winston Justice | Bobby Hart | Colts |
| DL | ||
| Cory Redding | Carlos Dunlap | Bengals |
| Antonio Johnson | Geno Atkins | Bengals |
| Fili Moala | Sam Hubbard | Bengals |
| 3-4 defense | DJ Reader | Bengals |
| LB | ||
| Robert Mathis | Germain Pratt | Colts |
| Kavell Conner | Josh Bynes | Bengals |
| Jerrell Freeman | 4-3 defense | |
| Dwight Freeney | Logan Wilson | Colts |
| CB | ||
| Cassius Vaughn | William Jackson III | Bengals |
| Jerraud Powers | Trey Waynes | Bengals |
| Vontae Davis | Mackensie Alexander | Bengals |
| S | ||
| Tom Zbikowksi | Vonn Bell | Bengals |
| Antonine Bethea | Jessie Bates III | Colts |
By my calculation the Bengals have a better roster but where the Colts really were different was the offensive line and linebacker….they had studs! It’s interesting that this is exactly the two weak points of the Bengals going into 2020. The other argument is that Luck had better receivers. Wayne was at his peak and Avery had a great season but T.Y. Hilton did not break out yet. Statistically I would rather have Green-Boyd-Higgins to roll with as a rookie.
I will not argue the Luck versus Burrow position. Burrow had a better final college season and is referred to as “the best prospect since Andrew Luck.” I gave the edge to Burrow even though we all know Luck had an amazing season. The bottom line, Burrow has weapons on par with Luck and he will not get “mauled” as Colin Cowherd said. (this is where I would normally bash the OL but am refraining).