Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Anthony Rizzuti

Panthers LB Brian Burns ranked NFL’s 8th-best edge defender

We’re starting to think the Carolina Panthers may have something in this Brian Burns guy . . .

In yet another bestowment of offseason flowers, Doug Farrar gave the 25-year-old his in Touchdown Wire’s new edge defender rankings. Burns, who churned out a career campaign in 2023, comes in at No. 8:

The Panthers were a heavy blitz team in the 2022 season, sending extra rushers on 31% of their snaps, which ranked sixth in the NFL. That shouldn’t at all diminish what Burns did last season. The 16th overall pick in the 2019 draft out of Florida State had a career-defining season in 2022, racking up 13 sacks, 11 quarterback hits, 44 quarterback hurries, and 32 stops. With blitz-heavy teams, you want to look at sacks with four or fewer rushers, and Burns had five of those last season.

Those numbers helped Burns earn his second straight nod as a Pro Bowl starter . . . although we’re not really sure if you can technically “start” in the latest adaption of the all-star festivities.

Nonetheless, Burns should be inching ever closer to a huge, big-money extension—one that may even pay him above his standing in these rankings.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.