Quote:
Originally Posted by Coltsalr
Am I the only one not completely sold on Burns?
Granted, it could just be my hatred of Florida State, but at 6'6 240, he's extremely lanky to the point that he reminds me a ton of Leonard Floyd (another guy who I was hoping would last to us but didn't).
And Floyd has failed to make a real, game-changing difference for the Bears.
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I hear you. I was very skeptical about him. He is/was built like the kind of prospect I don't like. You mentioned Leonard Floyd. Floyd is actually one of the more successful of this type, which says more about the type itself than it does about Floyd. I'd include Dion Jordan (super bust), Barkevious Mingo (ok LB but never was a pass rusher), and Aaron Maybin (super bust). Guys that ran around blockers to get sacks but played at a weight that would never work in the NFL. I looked at Burns at first and figured he was the same type.
But then he weighed in at 249 at the Combine, and still tested very very well athletically. He ran a 4.51 40, his agility drills were good, his vertical and broad jumps were top 5-6ish if I remember right. And he interviewed well. He talked about having to gain over 20 lbs pre-Combine. He talked about how he needed to improve on his transfer of speed to power to round out his game. I expected him to either weigh in heavy and then tank or skip the workouts, OR to weigh in too light but do well in the drills. I didn't expect him to do well at a solid NFL weight.
So I watched some videos of him because I began to think maybe I wrote him off too soon. And what I see from him is that he actually plays with good technique and goes into a play with a plan. He has moves. He's not just running around blockers. He has skills that will transfer to the NFL. The other guys, even Floyd, didn't have that.
Now, those skills would not transfer at 228 lbs. He looked like a WR in college. But his Combine proved a lot. I remember Maybin weighed in around 250, but looked like a puffy sack of fat. He ran a really bad 40 and moved slow in other drills. He put on bad weight. Burns put on good weight. He got bigger and stronger but still moved athletically.
So I've kind of come around on him. I think he has skills those other guys didn't, and I think he has a better attitude than Maybin and Jordan. Floyd I think still might do something. Anyway, I get the idea Burns wants to be great and is working hard to get there. There's risk in drafting him early but I don't think it's any worse than any other prospect outside of Williams or Bosa. I would put him in the next category right under them, with Josh Allen/Ed Oliver/Montez Sweat.