Overview

Position: CB

College: Ohio State

Class: Senior

Age: 22

 

Measurables

Height: 5’11 1/4”

Weight: 186 lbs.

Arm length: 31 3/8″

Hand size: 8 3/4″

 

Athletic testing

40-yard dash: 4.48 sec.

10-yard split: 1.50 sec.

Vertical jump: N/A

Broad jump: N/A

Bench press: N/A

3-cone drill: N/A

Short shuttle: N/A

 

Strengths

Plus length at his size. Very good overall speed. Sticky defending underneath routes in press coverage. Quick feet to mirror out of the press. Shows strength when jamming receivers. Low and athletic moving around in coverage. Can be all over simple route cuts. Able to plaster opponents on shorter routes. Quick reaction time to jump on routes in front of him. Excellent feel for shading inside to play in-breaking routes from off coverage. Tremendous instincts playing in-breaking routes in general. Impressive forward burst coming out of the backpedal. Accurate breaking on the ball and getting a hand in. Looks to get his head around defending down the field. Quality ball skills. Competes through the catch point. Has experience playing both sides with some snaps in the slot. Can match up versus tight ends. Used as a blitzer from the perimeter. Will come up to tackle on the perimeter. Works to keep outside positioning. Filters towards ball-carriers and gives effort to get in on tackles. Showed high-level play in his first three seasons and might have lost confidence in 2024.

 

Weaknesses

Footwork needs to be cleaned up to match route breaks. Overall footwork needs to be refined. Declares early and gets spun around rather than mirroring down the field. Does a complete turn up the field to play outside route breaks rather than moving his feet to blanket. Want to see him be smoother opening up to play vertical routes down the field. Needs to avoid hand placement on the shoulder if he falls behind. Could be picked on when he gives too much of a cushion. Beaten on a double move and really struggled in the first matchup versus Oregon (2024). Lacks strength taking on blockers and gets pushed around too much. Lacks effectiveness as a tackler versus downhill ball-carriers. Needs to be stronger wrapping up.

 

NFL comparison

Riley Moss

 

Conclusion

Overall, Burke is a sticky cornerback with clear flashes of cover ability and desired effort who just needs to be more consistent. Teams will need to weigh the 2024 struggles with the promise shown across his first three seasons, and Burke being used more in press coverage is the best way to re-unlock his potential.

 

Big Board ranking: #70 | Positional ranking: #9