The Carolina Panthers have a budding star on their hands.
Brian Burns continues to get his flowers coming off a career campaign, one that earned him his second straight nod as Pro Bowl/Pro Bowl Games starter. This time, the praise comes from Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus—who ranked the 25-year-old as the 12th-best edge defender in the NFL.
Sikkema writes:
Burns has recorded 30.5 sacks over the last three seasons — seventh most in the league — and his 174 total pressures ranked fourth. Nonetheless, his pass rush win percentage remains low, averaging just 10.5% over that time span. Becoming more consistent with how and when he wins is what he needs to do to rank higher on this list in the future.
That 12th overall ranking puts Burns in the second tier of Sikkema’s list. He rounds out a disruptive group that also includes Philadelphia’s Haason Reddick, Green Bay’s Rashan Gary, Cincinnati’s Trey Hendrickson, Buffalo’s Von Miller and Minnesota’s Danielle Hunter.
12.5 of those aforementioned 30.5 sacks came this past season—as did career-highs in combined tackles (63) and quarterback hits (22).
