Geno Stone got valuable insight on Joe Burrow from a reliable source before signing with Bengals

A year ago, the Cincinnati Bengals were putting together scouting reports on how to beat the Baltimore Ravens defense with Geno Stone patrolling as a ballhawking free safety. Now it's the Ravens who need to scout Stone on the Bengals. That's life in the NFL for you.

Stone made an impression on Cincinnati last season as a first-year starter. The first of his league-leading seven interceptions came from the right arm of Joe Burrow in Week 2. Not that there's any doubt how Stone feels about his new quarterback.

"Great quarterback," Stone said to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com . "One of the best in the league. I'm happy to play with him. He was one of the first ones on the team to reach out to me. I'm stoked about that."

Stone may've been contact by Burrow first, but he had to do some research on the Pro Bowl quarterback before deciding to join his team. The 25-year old safety had a teammate in Baltimore who served as an obvious liaison: Patrick Queen.

"I've heard great things about [Burrow] from Patrick Queen," Stone said. "A guy you know you can trust. Great guy in the locker room. Gives it his all on the field."

Burrow and Queen were teammates for two years at LSU. While Burrow was the quarterback of the offense, Queen handled that role for the defense at linebacker. The two would butt heads from time to time in practice , but a mutual respect soon formed between them. They ended up bookending the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Stone wasn't picked until the seventh round that year, but he became a top target for Cincinnati just four years later. The Bengals checked Stone's free agency boxes as well.

"They're the team that wanted me the most and I wanted to go to a team that had a great quarterback, a great chance to win, to be a leader in the back end and play on a great defense."

Stone got his wish and will get to wear his original jersey number to boot. Not a bad deal at all.

Related: Bengals unveil which safety is currently the starter next to Geno Stone during first OTA practice