Greg Olsen: Joe Burrow and the Bengals are a smart pick to win Super Bowl

Greg Olsen would not be surprised if Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals won the Super Bowl this season.

If you do not think the Kansas City Chiefs are repeating as Super Bowl champions this season for whatever reason, then the Cincinnati Bengals need to be on your shortlist of candidates to do so.

Although he mostly calls NFC games for FOX, Greg Olsen tends to agree with me that Cincinnati is a team worthy of watching this season to potentially go all the way. The new Chief Family Officer for Batten has been blown away by how quickly Joe Burrow has transformed the utterly toothless Bengals into one of the very best teams across the entire NFL. This is nothing short of remarkable.

For Olsen, Burrow is the type of quarterback you dream of when you are a bad team picking first.

"“I think it’s just remarkable. How fast Joe Burrow was able to turn the Bengals around. When you take a guy No. 1 overall on paper, that’s the dream scenario, right? You take him No. 1 overall. You’re the worst team in the league. You have quarterback problems, you can’t win, you have a new head coach. Within a couple of years, you’re playing in a Super Bowl, albeit you lose and then you just find yourself back in that mix in a very hard, competitive AFC.”"

Burrow has forever changed the perception and expectations emanating out of this AFC franchise.

"“The expectation is that they’re gonna come in and forever change the landscape of your organization. And that’s exactly what Burrow has done. He got off to a rough start with the knee injury during his rookie year, but since then, he’s been everything plus some.”"

Even in a tough conference, Olsen has seen enough out of Burrow and Cincinnati to lead us to believe they will continue to match up well with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs going forward.

"“So I agree. I think in what is a very difficult conference, the way that defense is shaping up. I think the way that they’ve proven that they can go head-to-head with Mahomes and the Chiefs. They are one of the few teams that has proven to be able to kind of crack that code and beat them. Yeah, I think it’s a smart pick. I don’t disagree with that at all.”"

At this point in time, anything other than a third straight meeting between these AFC title bout contenders for the Lamar Hunt Trophy should be seen as a massive disappointment for everyone.

Greg Olsen thinks that the Cincinnati Bengals winning Super Bowl is a smart call

Yes, the Bengals might be my favorite to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in Las Vegas sometime in mid-February, but it is nice to get some validation from the lead NFL analyst for FOX on that assertion. Could the Chiefs repeat as Super Bowl champions? I would not rule it out entirely. However, the last team to pull off a Super Bowl repeat was the New England Patriots back in 2003 and 2004.

To me, the best thing they have going for them that most franchises in their position do not is being able to retain both coordinators. Zac Taylor is proving to be one heck of a head coach in his own right, but having both Lou Anarumo and Brian Callahan back for at least one more season is nothing to sneeze at. Kansas City, Philadelphia, Dallas and San Francisco have all lost coordinators.

But like Olsen said, it is all going to come down to how well Anarumo’s defense plays this season. Callahan’s offense should be one of the best in the sport, but losing the likes of Jessie Bates III in free agency to other franchises could limit the Bengals’ effectiveness of shutting down the pass. For now, nobody would blame you for picking Cincinnati to come out of the AFC this season at all.

Regardless, we should expect the Bengals to remain a top-eight football this year throughout.

Greg Olsen spoke with FanSided on behalf of Batten. As the new Chief Family Officer, Olsen will be a part of the company’s efforts to enhance and expand its range of family-focused security products and services to support their mission of empowering Americans to keep their families safe online, at home and in an emergency.

“I am honored to accept the role of Chief Family Officer at Batten,” said Olsen. “As a father of three, I understand the necessity and essential factors for keeping your home and your family safe from threats. I look forward to collaborating with the team at Batten to continue to identify the most innovative solutions that give families the peace of mind and protection they deserve.”