Big Board ranking: #78
Positional ranking: #7
Overview
Position: S
College: Utah
Class: Senior
Age: 21
Measurables
Height: 5’11 3/8”
Weight: 202 lbs.
Arm length: 29 1/2″
Hand size: 9 1/4″
Athletic testing
40-yard dash: 4.46 sec.
Vertical jump: 33.5”
Broad jump: 122.0”
Bench press: 20 reps
3-cone drill: N/A
Short shuttle: N/A
Strengths
Extremely intelligent. Great versatility. Filled a variety of roles at Utah. Twitchy and explosive/athletic. Plus speed and acceleration. Quick feet and flies around the field. Very good overall movements skills. Reacts quickly to plays in front of him. Quality mirror skills in man coverage. Excellent pursuit. Will make plays from sideline-to-sideline. Tough as a tackler. Doesn’t hesitate to take on ball-carriers in the hole or in space. Good overall play recognition. Has experience lining up as a dime linebacker. Very effective as a slot blitzer. Former wide receiver. Can be a special teams standout. A+ character on and off the field.
Weaknesses
A bit of a freelancer at times in zone coverage. Sometimes caught completely flat-footed in coverage. Undersized in terms of length. Struggles getting off bigger blockers. Limited ball production. Could get absorbed more in the box at the next level. Partly responsible two long touchdown runs against Oregon in PAC-12 Championship Game (missed tackle and plugging wrong hole).
NFL comparison
Lamarcus Joyner
Conclusion
Overall, Burgess has the intelligence, athleticism, and toughness to eventually become a significant contributor for an NFL defense in a safety/slot hybrid role. I think the character and skillset for special teams should make him a Day 2 pick worth considering among several other safety prospects.
I like the guys with comps to some of my Raiders.
They say the draft will be unpredictable this year. I’m following your rankings more than anything.
Great