HOW HE WINS
Burns doesn't always explode off of the line with his first step, but he still eats up the space between himself and the offensive tackle with his long strides. From the moment prior to contact to the end of the rep, Burns is throwing sophisticated hand technique, incorporating multiple moves and counters in an intuitive and relentless stream of disruption. His motor runs hot, and that effort, along with his length, agility, and hand technique, make him a difficult threat to keep away from the quarterback. Burns is clearly a dedicated practitioner of the art of pass rushing; his hand strikes are synced up with his steps to maximize impact, effectiveness, and leverage, and his hand placement consistently places him at a leverage advantage.
OUTSIDE RUSH
Burns' ability to threaten the edge with his second step puts immediate stress on offensive tackles, and his elite ankle mobility allows him to dip his shoulder and bend the edge at aggressive angles that are generally unheard of for players of his height. His elite balance allows him to accelerate to the quarterback immediately after cornering, without having to re-establish his center of gravity. Burns most frequently uses a compact arm over, a cross chop (which sets up his inside spin counter), a dip/rip, or a chop/rip to keep his frame clear from the offensive tackle's hands as he corners.
Found the rest of Brian Burns games from 2017...My degree of interest has gone way up after Clemson and Florida. This type of flexibility indicates special potential pic.twitter.com/99uC9Zn6sX
— Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft) July 20, 2018
INSIDE RUSH
Burns sets up his inside rushes with perfectly timed jab steps to the outside, which are often accompanied with diversionary strikes that further pull the tackle's momentum and focus outside. His primary inside moves are the same tight arm over that he'll occasionally use to the outside and a chop spin that might be the fastest and most effective spin in this draft class (Jachai Polite's spin is also in the running).
On his chop/spin Burns plants his inside foot simultaneously with his cross chop, which allows him to plant off the inside foot and redirect himself through the B gap that he widened with his outside fake, all while the tackle's momentum is still shifting his weight to the outside.
Brian Burns spin move for the sack! pic.twitter.com/TEGi6sb73q
— Ty Wurth (@WurthDraft) September 4, 2018
On his arm over, Burns draws the tackle upfield and outside with a long, quick jab step, then redirects his momentum inside while knocking down the tackle's hands to clear the inside path to the quarterback before the tackle can shift his weight back inside.
Burns beats both the RT and RG quickly with back-to-back arm-overs. pic.twitter.com/AqNhUvYK7E
— Ty Wurth (@WurthDraft) October 8, 2018
SPEED TO POWER
Brian Burns going speed to power with the "long arm". So far he looks like a very fluid pass rusher. pic.twitter.com/pEIpAikas3
— Chris Reed (@ChrisReed_NFL) January 16, 2019
RUN DEFENSE
Burns takes some hits for his run defense, but that is mostly from casual analysts who assume his weight forced him to struggle against the run. In reality, Burns has shown that he can do a good job of using his length to maintain distance from blockers, while playing with his hips behind him to generate better leverage, which allows him to set the edge at a lighter weight. As a 20-year-old, we can expect Burns to continue to add muscle as his metabolism naturally slows down, which would allow him to take his impressive tools and set the edge with greater consistency.
On the front side of runs, he isn't simply content to set the edge, as he will also use his fast hands, tremendous body control and explosive quickness to split blockers and attack the backfield, disrupting the play and often tackling the running back for a loss. His quickness and instincts also make him a menace from the backside of runs.
A question of concern with Brian Burns is his ability as a run defender. While he is not the most consistent in run defense, his presence of mind to squeeze and cover gaps is something I saw a solid amount. His hand talent/bend will help develop disengaging blocks fluidly too. pic.twitter.com/kIKTBREShR
— Cagen Cantrell (@CeeingTheDraft) April 16, 2019
FINAL WORD