NFL News NFL News, Reports and Updates
Can Oren Burks be a factor in Eagles’ reshaped linebacker room? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
If you only remember Oren Burks from the Super Bowl, yeah, it’s easy to wonder what the Eagles were thinking signing him.
It was Burks who replaced Dre Greenlaw when he tore his Achilles jogging onto the field in the second quarter of Super Bowl LVIII vs. the Chiefs last month.
The Chiefs understandably went after Burks, and Patrick Mahomes was 7-for-7 for 46 yards when Burks was the primary defender. But putting it in context, three-time all-pro Fred Warner, the 49ers’ other linebacker, allowed 11 passes on 12 targets in that game for 91 yards. Mahomes does this to everybody.
But that was the exception and not the rule.
Burks was very good in coverage all year, allowing a passer rating of 61.4 on 22 targets, with 15 completions but for just 113 yards.
According to Stathead, he had the 2nd-best defensive passer rating among 81 linebackers who were targeted at least 20 times during the regular season. Only Deion Jones of the Panthers, a former Pro Bowler, had a lower rating.
That’s the Oren Burks the Eagles believe they are getting.
For the sake of comparison, the lowest defender passer rating any Eagles linebacker had in 2023 was Zach Cunningham’s 93.9.
“Man, it’s the highest stage in sport,” Burks said of the 49ers’ loss to the Chiefs in Las Vegas. “I tried to be as ready as possible. Ultimately, we didn’t get the job done at the end, but I feel like for that, just getting a taste of that Super Bowl, you want to get back, it just makes you really hungry.
“This team has been close to (winning) a Super Bowl a couple years ago, as well. So I definitely get the vibe that everybody’s ready to take that next step.”
The Eagles on Sunday signed Burks to a one-year budget deal worth up to $2.5 million as they continue to reshape the linebacker position.
This wasn’t one of Howie Roseman’s blockbuster moves, but it’s an interesting one. Burks,…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/oren-burks-factor-eagles-reshaped-162312731.html
Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia
Publish date : 2024-03-20 17:58:37
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
