Could FSU EDGE Brian Burns help replace Olivier Vernon

"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections New York Giants NewsGiants Training Camp 2016Giants vs. Eagles 2015 Riley Dixon Color Rush Jersey , Week 172019 NFL DraftFlorida State EDGE Brian Burns should be in the conversation for sixth overallNew,85commentsCould FSU EDGE Brian Burns help replace Olivier Vernon?EDTShareTweetShareShareFlorida State EDGE Brian Burns should be in the conversation for sixth overallGlenn Beil-USA TODAY SportsThe New York Giants had, arguably, the worst pass rush in the league while Olivier Vernon was sidelined with a high ankle sprain to start the season. And while the pass rush picked up when he returned to the field, it was also clear that even with Vernon the Giants needed to invest in another pass rusher. With Vernon now in Cleveland, the need to invest in a pass rusher is that much greater.Fortunately, this is a fantastic year in which to need a pass rusher, and there are potentially elite players available at the top of the draft. Florida State EDGE Brian Burns hasn’t gotten the attention that some of the other defenders, but he bears a striking resemblance to a player the Giants fell in love with last year in Lorenzo Carter. Could the Giants select Burns at the top of the draft and add another long, lanky, and highly athletic EDGE to their defense?MeasurablesProsPossesses rare length with a tall frame and long arms.Excellent first step.Elite athleticism for the position. Good lower-body flexibility to bend around the edge.Generally plays with good pad level.Uses his hands well to keep blockers off his chest.ConsNarrow frame and weight could be a concern for some teams.Power at the point of attack is a question.Prospect VideoWhat They’re Saying Burns is a refined pass rusher that dominated power five competition throughout his college career. While it’s easy to love his high-variance, technically refined and gifted pass rushing skill set, Burns is a more versatile defender than he is often credited for. He can win from a three-point or stand-up position with playmaking ability against the run, in coverage and attacking the quarterback. His blend of length, flexibility, technical refinement, football IQ and burst serve as a strong foundation for him to become a dynamic playmaking defender in the NFL.- Joe Marino (The Draft Network - Scouting Report)Does He Fit The Giants?If the Giants want to spend one of their first round picks on an EDGE player, then Burns would be a good choice. Athletically, he profiles similarly to Lorenzo Carter, with an excellent blend of length and athleticism, but unlike Carter, he is a polished technician coming out of college. Burns has the ability to rush from all over the defensive front, as well as play out of both two and three-point stances, which would fit well with the Giants’ “multiple” look defense.The Giants famously prefer big players on defense, and Burns’ weight and frame might be a concern for them -- he reportedly played at just 230 pounds in college, he uses his hands and length well to keep offensive linemen from being able to lock in and control him. Between his length Mario Edwards Jr Color Rush Jersey , burst, and polished hand usage, he is a difficult player to block around the edge and was routinely disruptive in opponents’ backfields. In 33 games at Florida State, Burns racked up 123 tackles, 38.5 tackles for a loss, 23 sacks, 7 forced fumbles, and 7 passes defensed. If the Giants don’t get hung up on his relatively slender frame, he should be in the conversation for the sixth overall pick. Bucky Brooks of NFL.com is out with an excellent piece breaking down five things the rest of the NFL should learn from the once-again Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. Let’s look at those five things and see how they apply to the New York Giants.1) Focus on each player’s best traits.Brooks points to a number of players on the New England roster, especially wide receiver/running back kick returner Cordarelle Patterson and left tackle Trent Brown. Brooks, however, also lists a number of other useful players acquired by the Patriots.Valentine’s View: This has long been something I have thought the Patriots do better than anyone. They focus on what players can do to add value to their team, rather than what they can’t do as reasons to keep them off the field.A coach’s primary job is to put his players — and by extension his team — in the best possible position to succeed. You do that by figuring out what your players — all of your players — can do to help you and finding ways to use it. For the Giants, this might mean taking a hard look at whether using Evan Engram inline on 50.4 percent of his snaps, as they did in 2018, is the right thing to do. It might mean taking a hard look at whether using Sterling Shepard outside is maximizing his ability. HINT: It’s not.It means trying to uncover more players like Corey Coleman, rejected by other teams but a revelation for the Giants returning kickoffs. It means, after a year of James Bettcher getting to know his players, making sure players are being used in the right roles.2) Build a roster that features a number of versatile players.Brooks writes:Valentine’s View: I do think this is something the Giants are trying to accomplish. Pat Shurmur likes multi-skilled running backs, and even the move at fullback from Shane Smith to the more well-rounded Elijhaa Penny shows that. Giants wide receivers move around and function in a variety of roles. It’s not easy, though. Finding defensive backs with the skills to play multiple spots, linebackers with an array of skills and defensive linemen useful against both the run and pass takes time.3) Place greater value on intelligence than athleticism.Brooks writes:Valentine’s View: I love this one, and I think the Patriots have proven how critical it is. Reality is, if guys have reached the NFL they are great athletes. All of them. Well, maybe aside from some of the kickers. If you’re a kicker and you’re reading, sorry. And if you’re Aldrick Rosas Nate Solder Color Rush Jersey , I’ve seen the size of your biceps. I don’t mean you.I don’t mean to beat a dead horse or go back over ancient history here, but I kind of need to. This is one of the areas where I thought former GM Jerry Reese lost his way. It just seemed like Reese drafted a lot of players over the years based on their athleticism, based on what they looked like and measured like rather than what they played like.Reese got away with that when drafting the back-flipping Jason Pierre-Paul. It backfired drafting guys like Rueben Randle, Andre Williams, Owa Odighizuwa, James Brewer and others.There are rare athletes like Odell Beckham Jr. and Saquon Barkley. What separates the successful players from the unsuccessful ones at the NFL level, though, is often what is in between their ears and in their hearts. Can they learn and apply information? Can they study properly? Can they read and react quickly to what is happening on the field? That is a lot more important than how fast they run, how high they jump, or what they look like with their shirt off.4) Toughness matters.Brooks writes: Valentine’s View: Along with intelligence, this is another thing that is ultra-important and separates successful players and teams from unsuccessful ones. I think both GM Dave Gettleman and coach Pat Shurmur understand that trait, and value it. Witness a couple of the quotes used in Sunday’s post on the type of quarterback the Giants might be seeking to be the heir to Eli Manning.Shurmur:“I admire that. That’s really the most important thing, toughness and grit. You can be smart, you can be well-dressed, you can be well-spoken, but at the end of the day and it’s absolutely demanded in our sport, is your ability to be tough and gritty. Those are the attributes in people and especially in football players that is an absolute necessity in our business.”Gettleman:“There’s two kinds of players in this league, folks. There are guys that play professional football and there are professional football players,” Gettleman said. “And the professional football players are the guys we want. I don’t want guys that want to win. I want guys that hate to lose. That’s the professional football player. That’s what you want. So, it’s important.”Again, it takes time to find those players and populate your roster with them.5) It’s always about the team.Brooks writes: The Patriots don’t overpay for players. They just scout, and probably teach, better than everyone else. It’s how they replace Nate Solder with Trent Brown. It’s how they let the Giants pay for Shane Vereen and easily replace him. They do that over and over and over.There are no “me-first” or “look at me” guys on the Patriots. It’s about winning, and if you don’t buy in to doing whatever that takes then you don’t stay. No matter how talented.