Jermaine Burton took forever to "break out" until his senior year at 22 years old with a 30% dominator rating as a member of the Crimson Tide.
He transferred from the University of Georgia over his first two seasons to Alabama his final two collegiate seasons. Although he did post a very serviceable 19% dominator rating his first year at Bama (essentially a breakout), with 677 yards and 7 TDs.
And Burton also produced decently during his time in Georgia, despite facing a myriad of tough competition. 16% dominator rating in 2020 as a true freshman (19 years old) while competing for targets with George Pickens. During his second season as a Bulldog, Burton was second on the team in receiving yards behind only Brock Bowers - despite competing for targets with the aforementioned tight end, Ladd McConkey and Adonai Mitchell. He was also used exclusively downfield during his final year, with a 20.2 aDOT (3rd-highest in the FBS) in 2023. And zero drops. Burton also led all WRs in the 2024 class and finished 12th overall in yards per route run. Burton possesses and explosive skillset with 4.45 wheels and jumps in the 82nd percentile-plus. He's a big play waiting to happen, but likely won't command a hyper-intense target share at the next level. He's got two games on his college resume with double-digit targets. He also has some off-field issue concerns that could have his draft capital in the real-life NFL. But the Bengals still drafted him in Round 3, which bodes well for his NFL future. Because the writing is on the wall that Tee Higgins is not in the Bengals' long-term plans. Whether he gets moved this year or next offseason, Burton's stock will be on a steady rise from here on out, assuming his off-field issues don't get in his way.
by in FantasyMay 2, 2024