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How about we add a little jolt to this Falcons draft season?
Via NFLTradeRumors, Draft Analyst’s Troy Pauline reports Atlanta met with USC WR Deontay Burnett this past week at the school’s Pro Day.
Pauline reports how the wideout looked during his workouts.
Burnett timed anywhere from the high-4.5s to the mid-4.6s in the 40. He ran a solid short shuttle of 7.12 and his three-cone was very fast, timing in the 6.7 area. This should come as no surprise, as Burnett is a receiver who’s more quick than fast. He caught the ball well and people said he looked exceptionally smooth.
Burnett would no doubt be an explosive addition to an offense that could use a little more of that. NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein offers some insight into what he thinks Burnett is capable of (check out who Burnett’s pro comparison is).
Standard issue slot receiver with a thin frame but above-average toughness when it’s time to make a catch and move the chains. Burnett doesn’t have the size or separation speed for frequent work down the field and may be better suited to a role as a possession target. Burnett lacks play strength and may need to compensate by learning to create space for himself through a more leveraged approach as a route-runner. He lacks high-end measurables but could become a decent WR3 in a spread-oriented attack.
The Falcons are doing plenty of homework on wide receivers (particularly of the slot variety) that could go anywhere from Round 3 to Round 7. It feels like a pretty safe bet the team adds a receiver at some point in the draft right now. Whether it’s going to be higher up or with the Mr. Irrelevant selection is still unknown.
So, mark Burnett down as yet another interesting name to pop up. More names are likely to come.