Joe Burrow walked out of mandatory minicamp and told the world his 2026 Cincinnati Bengals remind him of his 2019 LSU team, and I genuinely do not know whether to be inspired or terrified on his behalf.
The 2019 LSU Tigers went 15-0. They won the national championship. Burrow threw 60 touchdowns that year (an NCAA record) and put up 463 yards and five scores against Clemson in the title game alone. That team wasn’t just good; it was one of the most dominant college football seasons ever played, and comparing anything to it is a statement that either looks prophetic in February or gets played back to you in a January press conference while someone waits for you to explain yourself.
Burrow’s exact words at minicamp: “You go back and watch what I’ve said before [the] 2019 season at LSU. I feel very similarly about this team.” He also said this is the most talented Bengals roster since he arrived, that “we have everything we need,” and when asked whether the bold comparison would put unfair pressure on the team, his response was essentially: good.
“I thrive in it. I want everybody talking about the Bengals.”
Okay. Noted.
What’s less comfortable is the recent record. The Bengals haven’t won a playoff game since January 2023 (a Wild Card win over the Ravens that now feels like three lifetimes ago) and they missed the postseason entirely in 2023, 2024, and 2025. The AFC North is not running scared from this minicamp speech. The Steelers, Ravens, and Browns are all rebuilding in various ways and still capable of beating Cincinnati on a random Sunday, because that division was designed specifically to neutralize good vibes.
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The offseason acquisitions are legitimately interesting, though. Dexter Lawrence on the defensive line. Jonathan Allen. Boye Mafe on the edge. Bryan Cook at safety. If those pieces hit, this defense stops being the annual hole in the boat and starts being something that can actually carry a game. ESPN covered the comparison before training camp even opened — because nobody expected Burrow to be this nakedly optimistic in June.
Here’s the part worth remembering: Burrow talked like this before the 2019 LSU season too. He had Ja’Marr Chase, a new offensive system, a roster that was built to go, and he said out loud that he expected it to work. Then it worked at a historically absurd level. The Joe Burrow 2026 Bengals LSU comparison isn’t coming out of nowhere — it’s coming from a guy who’s been right about himself before.
So this quote either ages as the most prophetic thing he’s ever said, or it becomes the setup for the most exquisitely documented flameout in recent NFL memory. If you’re tracking the AFC North race this fall, bookmark June 2026, because Burrow just gave everyone a reference point.
My bet — and I want to be clear that my bets are historically terrible — is that the 2019 LSU comparison holds up just enough to be frustrating. Bengals go 11-6, lose in the second round, Burrow throws for 4,300 yards, and this quote gets filed under “he wasn’t wrong about the roster, just the round.” The AFC North takes two of those losses. It always does.
Revis is asleep on the couch and has no notes.
