Jordan Palmer helped Joe Burrow unlock his true arm talent

The former Bengals QB and brother of Carson Palmer is responsible for Burrow’s newly found arm strength.

As soon as he was cleared to start throwing again, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow went all out this offseason to improve his game.

Burrow reunited with quarterback trainer and former Bengals backup Jordan Palmer this year to enhance his throwing motion and mechanics to get more velocity on his passes.

Palmer has been training young QBs for years now, but only recently started using 3D motion capture technology to diagnose mechanical and footwork issues. He found that Burrow had slight warts in these areas and managed to eliminate them altogether.

Judging by the reactions from Burrow’s receivers during OTAs, the training seems to have worked. Palmer, who has worked with Burrow since before the Bengals drafted him, knows exactly how to get through with him.

“Joe is a machine,” Palmer said The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman. “You gotta give Joe a thing to chase, whether it’s a team or a record, it’s just a challenge. That’s all he needs. He’s so cerebral, and his ability to focus and be present is so incredible. He’s not a guy you throw a ton of things at and try ’em out and we’ll see. You don’t do gimmicky stuff with him. You give him a thing that is challenging that he believes is gonna make him better and then once he learns that pattern, then you put him in a position to get out of that pattern and let him self-correct. He’s like a computer.”

Palmer believes that Burrow is indeed headed for a breakout season this year because, “He found a way to create more energy on the ball.” In a nutshell, Palmer showed that Burrow could create more torque on the ball by keeping his right heel on the ground and rotating his hips more.

After just a few days of training, Palmer said Burrow was registering 54 miles per hour on his throws. In addition to the tweaks he made, Palmer claimed that the rehab Burrow’s done on his knee has also enhanced his overall stability, which has helped him strengthen his core.

Arm strength was the biggest and perhaps only weakness to Burrow’s game. It doesn’t sound like it’s much of a flaw anymore.