FSU Alum: Brian Burns garners Rookie of Month honors with Panthers

Former FSU defensive end Brian Burns is tearing it up with the Carolina Panthers. The 2019 first round draft pick took home Rookie of the Month honors.

Any FSU football fan that saw Brian Burns play in his three years in Tallahassee knew he had the potential to be special.

He burst on the scene in 2016 leading all true freshmen with 9.5 sacks. He was a Freshman All-American with multiple publications with his sack total being the most at FSU by a true freshman since 1977.

As he got bigger and stronger he continued to develop as a pass rusher which culminated with him leading the nation in QB pressures as a junior in 2018.

The crazy thing about that is he did it while facing double teams every game as the only legitimate pass rush FSU football had on a mediocre defense.

That’s why the Carolina Panthers selected him with their first round pick and it’s paid off in spades thus far.

He was named Pro Football Focus Defensive Rookie of the Month and NFC Defensive Rookie of the Month.

Burns has 11 tackles, 2.5 sacks, nine QB pressures which is the most among rookies.  He also has and two blocked punts with all of this production coming in just his first four games of the season.

Thoughts

I know fans get caught up in stats all the time regarding actual sacks with pass rushers. It’s great if a defender can generate a sack, but ultimately the biggest thing is affecting the QB period with a pass rush.

If a defender can force the QB to get rid of the ball a little quicker or throw off his back foot that could result in something positive for the defense. I mean, Carolina Panther fans should be familiar with a QB who throws off his back foot a lot right?

That often leads to inaccurate throws or interceptions. Brian Burns seems to be fulfilling the exact role the Panthers drafted him for as their pass rush was abysmal last season.

I can’t say I’m surprised at all, so congrats to Burns for the recognition.