Joe Burrow enters the 2026 season with plenty to prove after the Cincinnati Bengals missed the playoffs for the third straight year. Now, Green Bay Packers pass rusher Micah Parsons has put the Bengals quarterback in a class of his own.

Speaking on his podcast The Edge with Micah Parsons, the former Cowboys star was asked about Burrow's standing among the league's top quarterbacks. Parsons has faced Burrow before and offered a strong endorsement based on what he has seen on the field.

“It’s funny, people always say, ‘Why do people think Joe Burrow’s so good? He’s always hurt....’ All those people have never been on the field with Joe Burrow. This is one of the greatest quarterbacks." Parsons said. "When he’s on, I don’t think there’s a better quarterback in the league than Joe Burrow.”

That puts Burrow above Patrick Mahomes and Dak Prescott in Parsons' eyes, even though neither quarterback has the same championship resume.

Mahomes has won three Super Bowls, while Prescott has never played in one, but Parsons is focused on Burrow's level of play when he's on the field.

Mahomes is coming off a difficult 2025 season and a knee injury that ended his season. He finished with 3,587 passing yards, 22 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions in 14 games.

Prescott put up better numbers for Dallas, finishing with 4,552 passing yards and 30 touchdowns. The Cowboys still went 7-9-1 and missed the playoffs.

Availability has been Burrow's biggest problem. A turf toe injury kept him out for nine games in 2025, and he also missed considerable time in 2023.

Parsons sees Burrow differently when the quarterback is healthy. The Bengals had plenty of issues around him, too. Their defense gave up the third-most points in the league last season, even though the offense ranked in the top 10.

The last time Parsons played against Burrow was in 2024, when OLB was still in Dallas. Cincinnati won that Monday night matchup 27-20 in overtime. Burrow went 33 of 44 for 369 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception.

Parsons was later asked where Burrow would rank if he stayed healthy.

“I think he no doubt will be a top-five quarterback this year, like top-three in the league for sure, " Parsons said on his podcast on September 2, shared by Bleacher Report's X.

That assessment comes with one clear condition. Burrow has to stay on the field for Cincinnati to get the full benefit of Parsons's belief.

Where Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow stand

On ESPN's Get Up, Mike Greenberg recently looked at Mahomes, Burrow, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson as they enter an important stage of their careers.

“It's a great topic for a radio show where you could dive into it for an hour because if you look at all the great quarterbacks in history, they all had the big second acts," Greenberg said. "The only one who cashed in on his first act amongst these four is Mahomes. The others are all trying to get it done.”

Mahomes already has three championships and recently added $239.05 million in new money through a two-year extension. The deal pushed his Chiefs contract to $504.5 million, with an average annual value of just over $63 million.

Prescott is at $60 million per year, while Allen, Burrow, Trevor Lawrence, Jordan Love and Matthew Stafford are all at $55 million.

NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky also compared Burrow, Allen and Jackson to John Elway, who went through multiple coaching changes before eventually winning a Super Bowl. He also compared Burrow's early-career injuries to Drew Brees.

For Parsons, though, the standard is simpler. When Burrow is healthy and playing at his best, he believes nobody in the league is better.

Written by

Evince Das