Zac Taylor’s simple criteria for a quarterback: “A winner”

[Who Dey]

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Some say wins aren’t a quarterback statistic. Bengals coach Zac Taylor apparently isn’t one of the some.

Taylor, embarking on his second season with the Bengals, has fairly simple criteria for what he’s looking for in a quarterback.

“A guy that elevates his teammates, accurate, has the best understanding of the playbook of anyone on the roster and a winner,” Taylor recently told Tyler Dragon of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “I want a winner, that’s it.”

Based on the team’s record in 2019, that doesn’t bode well for Andy Dalton or Ryan Finley, who combined to go 2-14. And it does bode well for Joe Burrow, who went 15-0 last season with LSU.

Quarterbacks can impact winning, given their ability to inspire and hold accountable their teammates, prompting the whole to become greater than the sum of the parts. It’s an intangible quality that isn’t conducive to statistics or analytics, but it’s a very real consideration if/when a team finds a true leader at the quarterback position who can indeed lift the overall performance of the franchise.

The early indications continue to be that the Bengals will select Burrow. It’s still very early in the process, however, and the Bengals don’t have to make a decision for nearly three more months. There’s no reason not to take as much time as possible before finalizing a plan.