FSU Football: Expert sees Brian Burns as first round pick in 2019 NFL Draft

FSU football has sent several defensive ends to the NFL in recent years, and one draft expert thinks that number will increase come the 2019 draft.

While FSU football has long been known as one of the colleges in the running to be the “Defensive Back U” of the game, there is another spot on that side of the ball that has been successful of late – as the defensive end position in Tallahassee has sent six players to the NFL in the last six drafts.

This past, it was Josh Sweat being drafted in the later rounds by the Philadelphia Eagles – the year before, it was DeMarcus Walker going in the second round to the Denver Broncos. Now, the Seminoles have a rising senior in Brian Burns who could end up going higher than both of them.

Even with a whole year left, Burns is turning heads with 14 sacks in his first two seasons and the position of being maybe the unquestioned leader of the FSU football defense this season. There will be plenty of people wanting him at the next level – and CBSSports.com thinks he could be the breakout college player for next year’s draft.

"If he can showcase a similarly lethal combo of burst and a tight arc to the quarterback compared to what he routinely put on display as a sophomore, Burns will be on his way to becoming an early-round selection.He’ll want to get into the 240-250-pound range to play on the outside in the NFL, but with his natural athleticism and flashes of hand usage, he absolutely has the physical profile of a first-round selection"

There is no doubt that Burns will be the main guy drawing attention on the FSU football defensive line, but he will also be benefited by offenses having to watch out for Joshua Kaindoh on the other side of the line as well as big Demarcus Christmas getting looked at in the middle.

It still boggles my mind that Burns was not selected as a first team all ACC selection. I get that Clemson is the class of the conference right now and everyone loves them some Tigers, but you would be hard pressed to find better ends than the Fort Lauderdale native wearing No. 99 for the Seminoles.

Burns will get a chance to shine early and often – and if he can set the tone in the opener against the Virginia Tech Hokies, he could be a very rich man come next April if he decides to go pro.