NFL Draft
3/19/25
6 min read
Denzel Burke 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Ohio State Buckeyes CB
Height: 5110 (verified)
Weight: 186lbs (verified)
Year: Senior
Pro Comparison: Kendall Sheffield
Scouting Overview
Ohio State Buckeyes cornerback Denzel Burke projects as a scheme-specific developmental starter at the NFL level. Burke has struggled with man-to-man coverage despite playing physically in the contact window but has the transitional quickness and competitiveness to play in zone as a deep third defender in space.
Burke checks boxes for his tackling demeanor and body control but still has room to grow from a vision perspective despite setting a program record for starts by a defensive back (51). As he continues to hone his craft, he should find opportunities on kick coverage units to dress on game days.
2025 NFL Combine Results
| Position | Name | School | 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Split | Broad Jump | Vertical Jump | 3-Cone Drill | 20-Yard Shuttle | Bench Press |
| CB | Denzel Burke | Ohio State | 4.48 | 1.5 |
Positives
- Offers effective length to play through the frame of receivers and attack the hands as the ball arrives
- Showcases good transitional burst to trigger and close on the catch point when he’s collected on his base
- Was a sturdy tackler in 2024 and offers an aggressive demeanor on the boundary, including vs. the run
Negatives
- Ball skills are sorely lacking, and fails to locate the football at the catch point
- Lacks appeal in man coverage due to lack of feel for anticipating breaks from both the trail position or off-man
- Can be inefficient with his feet and hips to hold ground and anticipate throwing windows
Background
Burke is from Phoenix, AZ, and played high school football for Saguaro HS. There, he was a two-way talent who played defensive back and wide receiver. 247 Sports rated him as a 4-star recruit before he missed all but one game from his senior year. He enrolled at Ohio State in the winter of 2021 as a member of their 2021 recruiting class.
Burke was named a Freshman All-American in 2021 and Third Team All-Big Ten while starting 13 games for the Buckeyes. His sophomore season in 2022 saw him start 11 games and then led the team in passes defensed en route to Second Team All-American and First Team All-Big Ten honors.
Burke started all 16 games for the Buckeyes as a senior in 2024, becoming the third player in program history to surpass 50 career starts. He was named Third Team All-Big Ten and was a key piece of a Buckeyes secondary that helped lead one of the best defenses in the country.
Tale Of The Tape
Burke likely won’t be for everyone, but there’s a foundational skill set that could make him a starter with the right coaching and scheme around him. He’s not a player who has found a lot of footballs at the catch point, and teams that covet big-play ability and script-flipping plays are unlikely to be enamored by his resume.
Burke has four career interceptions, two of which came in 2024. One was on a basic overthrow against Michigan State on a pressured boot while targeting a slide into the flat. Burke was covering grass, and the sailed throw landed in his hands. The other was on an open hook route that was thrown inside of the receiver’s break, pulling him back into Burke and the catch point for a contested target that Burke wrestled away.
The common theme for Burke across his 50+ starts is that in man coverage, he is inconsistent in getting his head around to locate the football. He’s much more comfortable face-guarding receivers and playing through the hands. But even in zone coverage, his angles and breaks are plastered tight to the receiver, and he’s leaving opportunities to attack the ball and create turnovers on the field.
The concern, obviously, is if he’s played too much football to undo these tendencies.
As a man coverage defender, Burke can labor with mirroring from the trail position or anticipating breaks in off coverage. As a result, he’s too loose plastering routes and can concede separation that yields completions. He’s got sufficient length and has played effectively in press to disrupt the timing of route releases, but trusting him often to play in phase while knowing his lack of ability to locate the ball is an unsettling mix.
In zone coverage, Burke has oily hips and the ability to flip and transition to cut a secondary route as needed. He’s got good foot quickness and sufficient length to trigger and play through an opponent to make a play on the football. You wish his burst was a bit more explosive and his angles were more ambitious to attack the ball, but he has a better appeal playing from depth and processing routes developing around him.
Burke offers good aggression on the perimeter and will play forward with the desired demeanor to defeat blocks on the perimeter and step up in run support. He isn’t a freakishly powerful corner, but he’s assertive and will use his hands and length to keep himself distanced as needed to take exit angles to the ball carrier.
His tackling has been hit or miss, however. He sported a 20 percent or higher missed tackle rate in 2022 and 2023 but cut that number by more than half in 2024. He has a good enough wingspan to wrap up in space around the lower half and does not catch blows passively in a way that would serve as a red flag.
It all adds up to a possible scheme-specific defensive fit who can succeed on special teams with his aggression, sufficient speed, and sufficient length. He actually logged more special team snaps in 2024 as a senior than he had in any other season, beating his true freshman season by almost 30 snaps.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Burke is a potential starter in a zone scheme that allows him to amplify his reactive athleticism. His ball skills are sorely lacking, which may cap his ceiling as an impact player.
If you can get him comfortable in trusting his eyes and developing better movement economy when leveraging multiple routes, he’s got the foundation of an adequate starter.
Grade: 73.50/100.00, Fourth Round Value
Big Board Rank: 119
Position Rank: CB15
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