Round 3, pick No. 80 – Terrell Burgess, S, Utah
The Raiders want to add a safety. Free safety in particular, but in Paul Guenther’s defense, that free safety has to also have some versatility to be able to switch up and play in the box or the slot at a moment’s notice. Burgess is that kind of player.
Despite facing some top-flight Pac-12 quarterbacks such as Justin Herbert, Jacob Eason, Anthony Gordon, and Kedon Slovis, Burgess wasn’t victimized much. He had three pass breakups against Pac-12 leading passer Anthony Gordon, and knocked down a pass from Herbert in the Pac-12 championship. Burgess was targeted a total of 40 times all season, allowing 25 catches for just 190 yards. That’s 4.75 yards per target, which means when he’s not forcing an incompletion, or blanketing his assignment, he was keeping the yards after catch to a minimum.
Burgess was a nickel corner and special teamer his first three seasons at Utah, moving to safety as a senior where he broke out. The Southern California native played defensive back and wide receiver in high school, giving him an understanding of route concepts and the ability to run them right along with the receivers he’s covering. This contributes to his versatility.
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