With four years of starting tape and a national championship to his name, Ohio State Buckeyes cornerback Denzel Burke had just about as good of a collegiate career as it gets.
A three-time All-Big Ten defensive back, he’s proven himself against some of the top college football programs in the nation and looks to carry his success into the NFL.
Denzel Burke Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 5’11″
- Weight: 186 pounds
- Position: Cornerback
- School: Ohio State
- Current Year: Senior
Burke’s Scouting Report
A native of Phoenix, Arizona, Burke finished up his high school tenure at Saguaro High School in Scottsdale. He was a four-star recruit in spite of his injury-shortened senior year, committing to play college football at Ohio State.
By entering the starting lineup to kick off 2021, Burke became the first true freshman to start the season opener on defense since Andy Katzenmoyer in 1996. He was a third-team All-Big Ten defender, finishing with 37 tackles, an interception for a touchdown, and 12 pass deflections.
SEE MORE: 2025 NFL Combine Results — 40-Yard Dash, Bench Press, and More
Burke started in all 11 games in 2022, ending as an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten selection. He finished with 34 tackles, three tackles for a loss, and five pass deflections.
Heading into his junior year, Burke had generated NFL attention due to his solid play as a starter at a blue-blood program for the first two seasons of his collegiate career. He added a first-team All-Big Ten appearance to his name, finishing with nine pass breakups and an interception.
Though Burke projected as a likely draft pick after his junior year, he decided to return to the Buckeyes for his senior year in hopes of chasing a national championship and improving his stock for the 2025 NFL Draft.
The 2024 season proved to be another good one for Burke, as he tied for the team lead with two interceptions and added 48 tackles. He started in all 16 games and helped Ohio State win the national title.
Strengths
- Experience at the Power 4 level as a four-year starter for a top program should be enticing for NFL teams.
- Scrappy cornerback who maintains ideal hand activity and play strength through a receiver’s stems.
- Does a good job of battling to stay inside the catch radius of opposing receivers.
- Willingness to engage at the catch point helps him force incompletions.
- Isn’t afraid to box out receivers, even if they’re bigger than he is.
- Shows comfortability in regards to his diagnosing capabilities in zone coverage, knowing when to pass off receivers to other defenders nearby and pick up a new route in his area.
- Willing downhill tackler who wraps up well at the point of attack.
- Smooth in his backpedal with good longitudinal agility shooting downhill out of his breaks.
Weaknesses
- Didn’t measure as well at the NFL Combine as the 6’1″ he was listed as at Ohio State.
- Upfield speed coming out of his backpedal is just okay, which limits his ability to defend vertical routes consistently against speedy receivers.
- Overall lateral agility is average, which can see him allow some initial cushion when he’s playing off-man or zone.
- Could stand to increase his processing speed in off coverage.
- Doesn’t have the elite speed to bail himself out in coverage if he doesn’t make the right read on time.
Current NFL Draft Projection and Summary
A scrappy, physical cornerback, Burke has the ability to play the boundary or the field-side at a high level.
Burke has been tested by some of the best receivers in college football, having played in the Big Ten and made deep playoff runs. He’s a competitive cornerback who does a good job of staying inside the hip pockets of opposing receivers. His physicality and play strength should fare well along the perimeter in the NFL.
GET DRAFTING: Free NFL Mock Draft Simulator With Trades
With his good technique in coverage and how he fares in contested situations, Burke is able to hold his own against bigger receivers, and his aggressive mentality should help him out in the pros.
That’s not to say that Burke isn’t without his limitations. He’s an average athlete who doesn’t have tremendous long speed or top-notch explosiveness shooting laterally out of his breaks. This can hurt him a bit in off coverage.
That said, Burke feels like someone who could be a capable starter at the NFL level. His ceiling might not go much higher than that, but a middle-of-the-road starter is still a player worth taking in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft.