Brian Burns may turn out to be the steal of the first round. The Panthers landed their rising star of an outside linebacker with the No. 16 overall pick in this year’s draft. Several EDGE prospects were taken ahead of him, but so far he has managed to outshine them all on the field.
Burns had a phenomenal September, tallying a team-high nine quarterback hits and 2.5 sacks. He won the Defensive Rookie of the Month award for his trouble.
How does Burns compare to the rest of his class when we bring in offensive players? According to ESPN, he’s right up there with the best. After four weeks of play, their writers have ranked Burns as the second-best rookie of 2019. Only Raiders running back Josh Jacobs ranks higher.
The next-best EDGE they have ranked is Josh Allen of the Jaguars, who came in at No. 7. Chase Winovich of the Patriots is next at No. 8. Nick Bosa from the 49ers did not crack the top 10.
