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Juston Burris made an impressive start to his NFL career last year, appearing in all 16 games the 4th round pick out of NC State recorded 16 tackles and 1 interception.
It was a promising start, but his performance indicted that there was more to come, and with new defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson in the building, Burris seems determined to grab the opportunity to start opposite Morris Claiborne.
“I want to come in here and compete for a starting spot,” he said before the team’s mandatory minicamp reached its conclusion. “Last year, they gave me that opportunity. But I didn’t completely do what I needed to do to do that. So this year, I’m coming in with the mindset that it’s my job to take.”
I don't think it's unreasonable to say that it's in the Jets best interests for Burris to claim that starting spot. Skrine is much more effective playing inside and if Burris can step up, that would allow him to move back inside.
At times this year, it's going to be hard to watch this team from a pure win/loss perspective. However I'm looking at it as an opportunity to glance into the future. The Jets have so many spots available, and players understand that with the current position of the franchise, they have the perfect opportunity to showcase their abilities.
Burris is looking to play at 210lb's or less this year after being up around 215lb's, the hope is that by being lighter on his feet, the quickness to stick with shiftier receivers will develop. I have a lot of hope for Burris moving forward and don't forget, he was running with the first unit in minicamp, it's up to him to show the coaches that's where he deserves to be.
“Last year, I think they tried to keep me with bigger guys who weren’t as quick just so I can get hands on them and stuff like that. This year, I’m trying to work on my quickness so I can cover smaller, faster guys,” he said. “I think that’s the biggest thing. I want to be able to guard everybody, I don’t want to have one matchup here and one matchup there. I want to be able to guard whoever lines up across from me. My weight is down a little bit, so I’ve been able to run a little better. I’ve had a good offseason.”