Learning one position is tough enough for an NFL rookie, but as we’ve seen countless times in the past, versatility only increases a player’s value. In Terrell Burgess’ case, it helped him get drafted in the third round by the Los Angeles Rams, despite only having one year of starting experience in college.
Burgess hasn’t been able to get on the field with his teammates yet as the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented teams from holding OTAs or minicamp, but he’s still preparing for his rookie year off the field. Burgess is trying to learn as many positions as he can on defense, beginning with safety and working his way down.
He’ll even dive into the “money” position, which is essentially a dime linebacker role for a defensive back.
“Honestly, I don’t know for sure. I plan to be able to contribute any way I can,” he said. “I’m trying to learn all of the defensive back positions. And once I get that down, then I’ll probably start trying to learn the ‘money’ position, as well, just in case they need to throw me in there in a different package. I’m going to try to learn everything, but learn the safety position then work down – from the top down.”
Burgess played all over the defense at Utah last season, from safety to nickel back to boundary corner and linebacker. While the Rams may not move him around that much in his rookie year, his versatility should get him on the field relatively often out of the gates.
Sean McVay and Brandon Staley have both mentioned Burgess’ ability to play safety and nickel corner, which gives the defense a lot of options. He can be the third safety behind John Johnson and Taylor Rapp, or compete with Darious Williams and David Long at the No. 3 cornerback spot.
Either way, Burgess is in line for a decent role early on as a rookie.
