For Panthers sack specialist Brian Burns, the Pro Bowl should only be the beginning
When Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule talks about his defense’s need to go from “good to great” in 2022, the most prominent example has to be Brian Burns.
The Panthers’ fourth-year defensive end is already one of the best five players on the team, as well as the only player on the squad elected as a Pro Bowl starter in 2021.
But 17 players in the NFL reached double-digit sacks in the 2021 season, and Burns wasn’t one of them. He’s never hit the “10 or more” sack mark in his career, falling just short with 7.5 as a rookie in 2019 and then 9.0 in both 2020 and in 2021.
Burns was asked early in training camp this season in Spartanburg if it bothered him to hear the frequent “But he’s never had a double-digit sack year” complaint in regard to his game.
“Hearing about it doesn’t bother me,” Burns said. “Knowing that I ain’t got it yet? That bothers me.”
The book on Burns for his first three years is this: If you can get a hold of him, you can stop him. Frequently facing offensive tackles who are 60 pounds heavier, Burns has relied primarily on speed rushes around the end. On passing downs, he hasn’t generally been able to run through anybody.
Rhule said that, based on Burns’ offseason, he expects a “big fat jump” in production from the edge rusher in 2022.
“The more that he can include the power-rushing game into his game, it’ll change everything for him,” Rhule said, “because he’s such a great speed rusher. He can change tempos on guys, he can change levels on guys. But if he has the ability to put his foot in the ground and run you over, too? That’s what takes you from 9-10-11 sacks to 15-16-17 sacks.”
Burns, the Panthers’ No. 1 draft choice in 2019, is still only 24 years old. He showed up at training camp this season at 258 pounds. That’s 10 to 15 pounds heavier than he’s played for much of his first three seasons. So he’s added muscle and strength. And he’s also trying to curb his night-owl tendencies. On off days, it’s not uncommon for Burns to not go to bed until 3 a.m. and then not get up until noon.
At camp, however, Burns has been setting five alarms, making sure to get up at 6 a.m. and then head to an early morning workout before practice with several teammates. Literally, for Burns, this season is time to get up. The early wake-up call is part of a concerted effort by Burns and others to develop him into more of a leader, a mission encouraged by the team’s resident defensive leader, linebacker Shaq Thompson.
Thompson said he has picked out Burns to help him lead, much like Thomas Davis once tabbed Thompson, because everybody on the team cares about what Burns thinks. Like the rest of us, they know there’s fearsome potential in Burns, who has the sort of athleticism you see from the NFL’s very best sack specialists.
“Even though he’s a young guy, going into Year Four, everybody respects him,” Thompson said. “Everybody listens to him like he’s an older vet. So I told Burns, ‘You gotta be more vocal. Instead of just me being vocal, I need 11 guys doing it.’”
So Burns, although he’s got his own starting position locked up, still has a lot on his plate at training camp. He’s trying to invest himself in his less-heralded teammates’ successes, as well as his own, and attempting to get to sleep by 11 p.m. so he can stay fresh during the day.
“I feel like I’ve got a lot more to the day,” Burns said of his new routine. “Starting late ain’t where it’s at, but it’s just tough.”
What else will be tough this season is this: Burns will no longer have fellow edge rusher Haason Reddick on the other side. Reddick was one of those 17 NFL players with 10-plus sacks last year, netting 11 to lead the Panthers. Then Reddick got an enormous contract in free agency, signing a three-year, $45-million deal with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Burns will get a massive deal like that one day, likely with a contract extension from the Panthers, but he doesn’t officially hit unrestricted free agency until 2024. Reddick kept some of the pressure off Burns last season, with teams having a difficult time figuring out which Panther player to double-team. That will no longer be a problem. Even if the Panthers sign another veteran pass rusher, which they would like to do, it will clearly be Burns drawing the most attention. (For his part, Burns promises that the improvement of Yetur Gross-Matos will help make up the loss of Reddick.)
Carolina’s defense was ranked No. 2 in the NFL in 2021 in yardage allowed. But it was only tied for 26th in takeaways and was similarly mediocre in a number of other key categories, including scoring defense and other various red-zone metrics.
Rhule said that while he wants Burns to increase his sack totals, another key stat is when he actually gets those quarterback sacks.
“Sacks are a great number,” Rhule said, “but sacks in the fourth quarter win games. It’s those sacks that affect seasons.”
As for the 10-plus sack number, Burns has no doubt that one will topple for him at some point.
“The thing is you can’t really focus too much on it, you feel I’m saying?” Burns said. “Because at the end of the day, it’s about winning. And then also if you focus on, ‘I want to sack so much,’ most likely not gonna come to you. So you kind of just got to relax, let the game come to you. And then, it’s inevitable.”
This story was originally published July 30, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
