2019 NFL Mock Draft 1.0: Defenders dominate throughout
60. . DE. Florida State. Brian Burns. 14. player
Few saw the Minnesota Vikings do anything other than compete for the NFC crown this year, but a surprising 1-2-1 start has put them in an early hole behind Chicago and Green Bay. The division, let alone the conference, is not theirs for the taking at this moment.
Entering the season it was hard to find a hole on this team, especially after the additions of Kirk Cousins and Sheldon Richardson in free agency and Mike Hughes in the draft. Adding those three players to an already elite team made the Vikings look unstoppable.
Clearly, the Vikings are not a perfect team and they have a lot of work to do after going winless in three consecutive games.
The Everson Griffin situation is troubling, and certainly the best thing for the pass rusher is to get 100% healthy before even thinking about football. That being said, the Vikings need to upgrade their pass rush, with or without Griffin going forward. They have 11 sacks through their first four games, four of which come courtesy of Danielle Hunter and three coming from defensive backs.
Brian Burns is a quick pass rusher with the burst and length to make it in the NFL. However, he lacks the power to bull rush tackles and break clean. That’s something he can improve on going into the combine and working with NFL strength coaches.
He’s certainly not a polished product, but Burns can be an electric pass rusher opposite Hunter.