Cincinnati Bengals select Jermaine Burton in third round of NFL Draft
Alabama’s leading receiver is off the board. Jermaine Burton became the sixth Crimson Tide player selected in this year’s draft after he was taken by the Cincinnati Bengals in the third with the No. 80 overall pick.
Burton follows J.C. Latham (No. 7 overall, Tennessee Titans), Dallas Turner (No. 17 overall Minnesota Vikings), Terrion Arnold (No. 24 overall Detroit Lions), Kool-Aid McKinstry (No. 41 overall, New Orleans Saints) and Chris Braswell (No. 57 overall, Tampa Bay Buccaneers) as Alabama’s selections so far.
Burton has some of the top physical traits in this year’s draft. The 6-foot, 196-pound receiver recorded a 4.45 time during the NFL Scouting Combine. Last season, that speed helped him become one of the best deep-ball receivers in college football as he secured 11 receptions on balls that traveled 20 or more yards in the air past the line of scrimmage.
Burton led Alabama in receiving yards the past two seasons, posting 798 yards and eight touchdowns on 39 catches last fall after recording 677 yards and seven scores on 40 receptions in 2022. His 20.46 yards per catch last season led the SEC and ranked sixth nationally.
“While the catch totals and yardage weren't necessarily prolific, Burton's tape is very appealing,” NFL analyst Lance Zierlein wrote in his evaluation of Burton. “He has pretty good size and plays bigger than he measures. He can fight through press, get physical at the break point and carve out space on 50/50 balls. Burton wasn't asked to run an extended route tree, but he has the traits and ball skills to work all three levels against NFL cornerbacks.
“He caught a touchdown pass every 5.7 grabs during his college career, but he would have scored even more if not for some mistimed throws when he had opened the window wide. Burton's athletic profile and ball skills create confidence that he can become a solid WR2/3 in the league.”
Burton spent the first two seasons of his college career at Georgia, helping the Bulldogs to a national title in the 2021 season. He was a four-star recruit in the 2020 class, ranking as the No. 25 wide receiver and No. 127 overall player.
"He's got great quickness," Burton's former coach Nick Saban said on ESPN. "He's got really good speed. He can come in and out of a break he can beat you man-to-man. I really, really like this guy."