Virgil Carter

Virgil Carter paved the Bengals' early passing path with a league-leading 70.2% completion rate in '71 under Bill Walsh's West Coast scheme, but Joe Burrow's already chasing rings in a Super Bowl era—5,000 yards his rookie year alone. Carter's a smart setup man; Burrow's the prime-time closer building something eternal.

Nope, Virgil Carter's not in Canton—no bust for the ex-Bengals gunslinger with 5,063 yards and 29 TDs over seven seasons. His real gold is in BYU's Hall of Fame since '77, where he set records as the "Blue Darter."

At 78, Virgil Carter's still crunching numbers from Apple Valley, California, as a pioneer of NFL analytics—think EPA models he cooked up in the '60s for George Halas and Paul Brown. He watched the NFC title game last January dissecting plays like it was 1969.

Carter's brainiac precision—leading the NFL in completion percentage in '71—and legs (BYU rushing records) would've feasted under no-touch rules and spread offenses. Picture his Walsh-fueled dink-and-dunk thriving like a proto-Kyler Murray, just minus the 40-yard bombs.

Both Bengals bridge QBs, but Carter's 69.9 rating pales next to Ken Anderson's 95.7 career mark and MVP shine. Carter sparked the passing dawn in '71; Anderson owned it for a decade, turning Cincy into contenders. Solid handoff, like Boomer Esiason later.