re: I'm sure 99.9% of the followers here would agree Burrow was the best QB to play at LSU but

Agree with others (including Belichick) who say Jones was the best pure passer I’ve ever seen. And for Burrow-like moxie, recall his reputed wink to Cholly Mac before tossing the last-second TD to Davis to beat Ole Miss.

Ok, cool. I’ll be sure to check with you before I dare express an opinion in the future

I'd put Hodson one short click below Burrow. Hodson (with Burrow's supporting cast) would have been lethal.

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Underwhelming

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He was the number two draft pick in the NFL draft and played for 10 years.

There is no but in that sentence. BUT it was not "a different game" back then, it just had fewer rules, way less padding, and far tougher people playing it. Yeah, they were slower (and admittedly whiter), but very few modern players would last more than a few games in the NFL of the late '40s and early '50s, for example. The league had mostly been suspended during the war and the returning veterans who got back into a uniform had a very bad attitude. Piling on in the line was universal and pro wrestling tricks like gouging and biting at the bottom were common. It was not unheard of for players to break bones and continue playing. Sometimes all season long. For a few years college players were older, too, due to returning to school and using their eligibility, and the game they played wasn't much gentler. You think I'm kidding? Google it and find out. Point is that the forward pass was more or less invented by Sammy Baugh and Tittle was very similar to him in strength and athleticism, playing both offense and defense. Either of those men could win a Super Bowl today; Joe Burrow is one of the very few modern players that could compete with them at all. As for Bert Jones, his career at LSU was hamstrung by conservative coaching more than "playing a different game"; when he got to Baltimore, his first two seasons compared very favorably to Burrows' and if ownership had given him any support, he'd have won a few rings. Very much like Burrow's situation in Cincinnati right now.

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Either of those men could win a Super Bowl today; 

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Tittle was 6 ft 190 lbs. He wouldnt make it through the season now a days.
Sammy baugh was 185 lbs.

Stop

"Tittle was 6 ft 190 lbs. He wouldnt make it through the season now a days."

Yeah, no one that size could play for two decades in the NFL, win a Super Bowl, and be a first ballot HOFer. Ever heard of Drew Brees?

"College stats aren’t a great metric, especially across eras in CFB."

I completely agree because rules and offensive schemes have changed a ton over the years. Much better, in my opinion, to look at how players performed against the competition of their era and how they were viewed against that competition.

So, my rankings behind Burrow:

1. Jones - and I don't think this is close. Fourth in Heisman voting, Sporting News POY. 2nd overall pick in the draft.

2.Hodson - nowhere near Jones's talent, but an excellent QB for 4 years and racked up stats that were huge for his era. the sustained excellence over four years is why I have him over the next on the list.

3.Russell - For whatever reason, this was not a player I loved as much as I perhaps should have, maybe because it took him until his third year to really hit stride? In any case, he had an incredible jr. year, racked up fantastic numbers and won the Manning Award for top QB that year. And although I thought the Raiders were nuts for doing so, the fact is that he was the first pick in the draft.

4. Davey - one of my all-time LSU favorites and he helped bring the Tigers back to prominence. And dang could he get hot (Bama and the Sugar Bowl against Illinois were incredible).

5. YA - Totally different era, but I have to put him over some of my other favorites I personally witnessed. 2X first team all SEC, actually had great stats for the era, and was the sixth pick in the draft.

Jeff Wickersham should be up there.

maybe Ryan Huffmann too.