Analyst: Auburn football legend better than QBs being compared to him
FOX Sports 1 analyst Emmanuel Acho believes Auburn football legend Cam Newton still has what it takes to be in the NFL — in fact, Acho believes Newton can contribute more to an NFL team in 2023 than many of the quarterbacks being compared to him.
Acho shouted out Newton (and Nick Fairley) for propping up an Auburn football program that had gone 7-5 in the regular season under Gene Chizik the season prior while taking a dig at an unnamed quarterback, if not multiple.
Auburn was a 7-5 team, but with Cam Newton (and Nick Fairley) they were national champions.
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) March 21, 2023
Heisman Winner. NFL MVP. Super Bowl attendee. Cam Newton is still better than some of the Quarterbacks y’all are comparing to Cam Newton. https://t.co/ItjMKQqKo1
Newton will be throwing at Auburn’s pro day on March 21.
Auburn football legend Cam Newton comparisons
The most notable comparison being made to Newton ahead of the 2023 NFL draft is Florida product Anthony Richardson. Richardson has said he believes he is better than Newton, which he should say as a competitor.
But former Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman — the key word there being former — took it a step further. “Everybody wants to make the Cam Newton comparison because of the size, the athleticism, how you make plays with your feet,” Spielman prefaced before saying, “But I think he’s a better thrower coming out than Cam Newton was.”
Acho was likely referring to Richardson, because another popular comparison to Newton is Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. While Newton was undoubtedly better at Auburn than Allen was at Wyoming, and was actually able to get his team to a Super Bowl in his first five years, Acho was most likely not referring to a QB universally seen as one of the top arms in the league today.