So last night I was scrolling through Twitter, y’know, just killing time before bed, when I saw this clip of this dude Deion Burks making an insane one-handed catch. Legit insane. And I thought, “Who IS this guy?” Felt totally out of the loop. So right then, I grabbed my laptop. Wasn’t gonna sleep until I knew more.
Figuring Out Who He Even Is
First thing, obviously, jumped straight to the search bar. Typed in “Deion Burks football”. Found out he played at Purdue. A receiver. Okay, cool. Knew absolutely nothing else. Needed stats. Pulled up his college numbers. Wasn’t exactly lighting the world on fire his first couple seasons. Kinda average, honestly. But then last season? Boom. Definitely started showing up more. Bigger numbers. Bigger plays. That’s what got my attention, that clip probably came from one of those later games. Started seeing why he’s now on people’s radar.
Diving Into the Draft Stuff
Now I was curious. Was this guy actually gonna get drafted? Where? Felt like I needed context. Pulled up a bunch of those big NFL Draft sites, the ones everyone talks about. Started scanning their receiver rankings. Scrolled down, down, down… found Burks. Usually somewhere in that big messy blob of Day 3 receivers. Sometimes higher in that group, sometimes lower. No real consensus. That just made me more confused.
Then I hit the mock drafts. Oh man. Talk about all over the place.
- Saw one guy had him sneaking into the late 3rd round (wild!).
- Another had him solidly in the 5th round (felt more likely).
- And a couple others just had him as an “undrafted free agent possibility” (ouch).
Seriously? How can it be this different?
Trying to Make Sense of It All
Okay, time to get smarter on why opinions are so split. Needed the why behind the where.
Watched more game tape – highlights AND some full games. What popped? His speed. This dude can absolutely fly. Runs routes like he’s shot out of a cannon sometimes. That burst when he changes direction is eye-catching. You see him get separation, which is huge.
But then… the downsides. He’s not a big guy. Like, at all. Those bigger, more physical NFL corners? They could eat him alive at the line if he can’t figure out how to get past that press coverage. Not sure he can just power through it. Also, while his hands looked decent in the highlights, I didn’t see enough crazy contested catches to convince me he’s gonna win jump balls against pros regularly. Had that one awesome clip, sure, but needs to show that consistently.
Plus, his earlier college seasons were just kinda… there. Not horrible, but not screaming “future star”. Scouts probably knock him for that, like he hasn’t produced at a high level for long enough. Makes sense.
Throwing It Out There
So, after basically falling down this rabbit hole for like two hours (RIP sleep), here’s where I kinda landed on Deion Burks:
- Round 3 seems like a massive stretch. Like, lottery ticket stuff. Unless he blows everyone away at his Pro Day or something, I just don’t see teams reaching that high. Too many other receivers with more proven production or better size.
- Rounds 4-5 feel like the sweet spot. Maybe a team needing pure speed badly takes a swing here. If he tests off the charts athletically (which he might!), this is where the bet on that potential feels worth it.
- Round 6 or 7 could happen if teams see him only as a slot guy or a returner. If he slips, it means teams are really worried about how he translates or his lack of dominance earlier on.
- Undrafted is still a real possibility. Especially if teams prioritize size/physicality in this draft. He’s a gamble.
My gut feeling? 5th round is my best guess right now. Some team late on Day 3 looks at that speed, thinks “We need some of THAT,” and pulls the trigger. Hoping he can bulk up a little and learn how to deal with the physicality. But honestly? Ask me tomorrow and I might say 6th round. It’s that uncertain.
Man, staying on top of all these prospects is exhausting, but kinda fun too. Time for bed before I start researching offensive guard prospects or something crazy. Night!
