FanPost

Meet Amari Burney

Amari Burney - Football - Florida Gators

It's been a while so let me re-introduce myself, the names reeceDAbeast45, over the last decade I've developed quite the hobby of scouting college athletes preparing for the draft. I will scout any and all positions and I've coached every position at the high school level. That being said there is one position in particular that is my favorite position to scout and that's Linebacker.

Lets take a look at some notable LB's I've scouted and been high on the last 6 years that actually panned out as decent players.

Denzel Perryman (2015)

Kwon Alexander (2015)

Deion Jones (2016)

Jatavis Brown (2016)

Jarrad Davis (2017)

Duke Riley (2017)

Zach Cunningham (2017)

Anthony Walker (2017)

Roquan Smith (2018)

Genard Avery (2018)

Devin White (2019)

Devin Bush (2019)

Germaine Pratt (2019)

T.J Edwards (2019)

Bobby Okereke (2019)

David Long Jr. (2019)

Patrick Queen (2020)

Jamin Davis (2021)

Nick Bolton (2021)

And the Non-Panner-Outers (who I was high on)

Antonio Morrison, James Burgess, Skai Moore, Ogbonnia Okonkwo, Te'von Coney, Tyrell Dodson, Khalil Hodge, Vosean Joseph, Ulysses Gilbert III

Last year I didn't do any scouting and this year I only scouted WR's, RB's and TE's, but I am interested in learning about our 6th round pick Amari Burney so I watched three of his games and here are my notes.

V.S Georgia

  • more discipline staying square while scraping
  • 3rd down PBU 20+ yards downfield
  • needs to be lower and more violent when blitzing
  • can be physically dominated by interior OL 4:58(1), 3:26(1)
  • too timid near goal line/short yardage situations
  • at times displays vision and athleticisms putting himself in position to make TFL's 00:02(1)
  • asked to do a lot coverage wise
  • 12:47(2) great position just gets a bad break on the PBU
  • 9:43(2) playing OLB, makes a nice TFL on the boundary
  • 9:27(3) needs to squeeze down tighter when reading the down block, those extra two steps create the hole, but good recovery and second effort to force a fumble
  • basically playing nickel DB, covering slot almost every play
  • 5:16(3) these are plays you got to make, his processing/instincts are holding him back
  • beautiful interception while guarding the RB wheel route @ 4:35(3)
  • 13:58(4) loses outside contain
  • 13:37(4) I know Darnell is massive but he needs to find a way out of that block.
  • played all over 2nd level this game, OLB, Slot, ILB, CB
V.S LSU

  • 12:05(1) not the best push/pull block shed but gets the job done, able to make tackle at L.O.S
  • will cover WR's
  • 10:01(1) I like his discipline here, takes his forward read step, recognizes pass and begins to drop in coverage, reads the QB draw, reacts and makes the tackle for a short gain forcing 3rd and long.
  • 9:23(1) banged up after making a great effort in pass coverage. (friendly fire)
  • returned to game 6:28(3) does not look 100%
  • Way too timid dealing with interior OL 2:31(3)
  • 2:01(3) beats the OL for a TFL
  • too much waste-bending when blitzing/rushing the QB
  • 7:39(4) physically dominated on block
  • 4:57(4) better getting downhill but pad level still too high
  • 2:11(4) bounces off tackle, need better wrap-up
V.S Tennessee

  • Mostly pass coverage in first, lookin good
  • 4:07(1) good job getting off block but need to be stronger on the tackle. Could have forced a 3rd and short instead of giving up the 1st down.
  • 3:06(1) need better hustle and pursuit here, could have saved the defense 10 yards + a first down.
  • 2:46(1) good position scraping over the top after #52 wrong-arms the pulling guard, just need to be more physical (also needs some help from the other LB who got swallowed up)
  • 2:05(1), good read, sneaks behind pulling guard securing a TFL
  • does not have a natural nose for the football
  • 6:05(2) way too slow to diagnose the play here
  • 5:21(2) best blitzing effort by far! cross blitz with Mike, beats center across his face and meets with physicality, moves up to RB who he puts on his ass before securing the strip-sack.
  • 0:14(2) called for defensive holding in the redzone, a bit tick-tacky but have to be smart there, penalty did result in a TD on the next play.
  • 14:37(3) pursuit effort is lacking
  • 12:20(3) not an easy play to make, but it looked like he didn't even try to shed or avoid the block
  • 11:46(4) good recovery speed to make stop for short gain,-But should have reacted sooner to the down block, needs to squeeze down ASAP to force the string out. Slow play-rec gave up a first down instead of forcing a 4th.
  • 9:35(4) gets a sack in the red-zone
ANLAYSIS


Coverage backer who was asked to do a lot in regards to stopping the pass, matches up best with slots and rb's, might struggle a bit with bigger athletic tight ends. Blitzing ability and overall physicality are lacking, in the three games I watched I only saw one blitz that was impressive and that happened in the second quarter vs Tennessee, and in all fairness that was a great effort from a physicality standpoint so it was great to see a glimpse of his potential but disheartening that he didn't display those flashes more often. Overall he looks pretty good in coverage, fluid hips and decent feel for the zone, has the speed to hold his own in man, noticed multiple impressive pass breakups in the three games I watched and one incredible INT vs Georgia in the 3rd quarter. Gators utilized him in the slot A LOT.

Run stopping was pretty atrocious, and honestly his LB stance alone bugs me I just find it ugly, and he bends so much at the waste he looks like the hunchback of Notre Dame at times trying to find his way to the B gap. Needs to learn to bend at the knees to lower his pad level and stop being a waste-bender. Block shedding is below average, needs lots of work. I noticed that ball carriers seem to always fall forward when Burney is making the tackle, most likely and issue of strength and technique, fixable but not what you want to see.

Burney biggest weakness in my opinion is his processing speed. He has the athleticism to be a rangy, sideline to sideline type of LB, but until he can confidently read and react he is a major LIABILITY against the run. Burney cannot stop the run in short yardage/goal-line situations. I think the gators felt he gave them the best chance at times and that's fine, but the fact is he was really bad it. Interior OL eat him up and he's just not decisive enough to get to the right spot fast enough, often times he dances himself out of the whole and gets washed out.

Well, we finally drafted a somewhat athletic linebacker, and as a self-proclaimed LB Guru I wish I had some more positive things to say about Burney, but in my honest opinion I'm not overly impressed. His ceiling is a nickel LB in my opinion, which is a fine ceiling for a 6th rounder, and nobody is expecting a 6th round LB to be a complete product but the positives of Burney's game don't outweigh the negatives for me. Where he excels in pass coverage and posses good ball skills and athleticism for the position, he has some major downfalls in play-rec, pursuit, run-stopping, tackling, block shedding, and physicality. He wouldn't be my choice at LB, but he's here, best of luck Amari. Go Raiders!