Being exposed on primetime television can be impossible for athletes to overcome. The narrative that can come from one 60-minute performance can last a career. Unfortunately, Ohio State cornerback Denzel Burke will now look to undo what happened against Oregon.
Burke, a senior who came back to Ohio State as a consensus top-five cornerback for the 2025 NFL Draft class, was torched over and over in Week 7. Now, his NFL prospects are looking bleaker despite his experience, playmaking, and an otherwise quality resume.
It's probably safe to say we're done seeing Burke in the first round of any 2025 NFL mock draft anytime soon. He let all eight passes thrown his way be caught, totaling 179 yards and two touchdowns, making him Oregon's prime target.
Instead of speed being the issue against Evan Stewart and Tez Johnson, Burke's lack of discipline truly cost him.
Related: 2025 NFL Draft Big Board Rankings: Top prospects rising include Drew Allar, Emeka Egbuka, and Ashton Jeanty
Lacking support from safeties for much of the game, Burke uncharacteristically fell for double moves multiple times. Before this game, the senior had only given up four touchdowns across 1,162 career coverage snaps, making this game a potential turning point for the rest of his season unless he can recover.
So far this season, Burke has allowed 85.7 percent of passes in his direction to be caught. With 266 yards given up in 2024, Burke is on the verge of setting a new personal record for the most yards allowed in a single season.
While a significant portion of this came from the game against Oregon, it raises questions about whether Burke's decision-making and discipline can compensate for his lack of top-tier speed. For context, Burke had allowed no more than 30 yards in any game this season until Oregon.
Last year, Burke allowed no more than 65 yards in any game. He's been incredibly reliable in man coverage throughout his career until this one show. While Burke's comfort in zone and man has been a big selling point, it feels as though the conversation will shift to whether he's another Eli Apple.
If you don't remember Apple, he was a good athlete who guessed a lot while playing cornerback. He was prone to penalties and getting Moss'd because he wouldn't turn to locate the ball. However, his traits and positioning were often good enough for a No. 2 cornerback, so he was selected in the first round and lasted in the NFL for eight years.
Most prospects would love to have the career Apple had, even if he didn't live up to the 10th overall pick. Evaluating Apple and Burke, I believe the latter is the better player, and it's not particularly close. So why would Burke go a full round later?
The 2025 cornerback class is stellar, and Burke won't compare as well athletically. Now, with this eyesore on his resume, it'll be a tough sell for Burke to make his way back into the good graces of evaluators.
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