Zac Taylor’s Regime Can Handle Jermaine Burton’s Character Issues
Syndication: The Enquirer
Jermaine Burton was selected with the 80th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. He very much has the big play potential to add his name to the list of productive NFL receivers to come out of Alabama.
Jermaine Burton is going to be terrifying in the Bengals offense. He brings something new to the most dangerous WR room in the NFL. pic.twitter.com/CrRoaEnbZs
— Willie Lutz (@willie_lutz) April 27, 2024
When he’s on his game, Burton has every trait you could ask for in a big play receiver. He’s fast and strong, he has an elite ability to separate, and he’s more than capable of making huge plays. In a Bengals offense full of players who can make big plays, Burton very much has an ability to be a major contributor.
The Bengals don’t rebuild, they reload.
Jermaine Burton is an absolute WEAPON for Joe Burrow. pic.twitter.com/YKCMiryw43
— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) April 28, 2024
However, his character and emotional maturity have come into question. Upon Burton’s selection, former Alabama coach Nick Saban was very quick to comment on how Burton needs to mature to make it in the NFL.
“You’ve got to do the right things in your life all the time so that you can do the best things that you can do on the field and be the best you can do,” Saban said. “When you get emotional, you make bad decisions and lose your brain.”
Many of Burton’s character issues stem from an incident after a game in 2022 against Tennessee. In this game, after Tennessee fans rushed the field, Burton allegedly struck a fan. The former Bama receiver was not charged with a crime for the incident, and he says he has moved past it.
“It was something I had to move past forward,” Burton said. “It was a very emotional, passionate game, and a lot was on the line. I have really learned in situations like that. We played LSU (two weeks later) and the same thing happened, and I was one of the first guys in the locker room. I quickly separated myself and understood there’s more at stake.”
It’s always concerning any time an organization takes a chance on players with character and maturity issues. Even with Burton’s red flags, he is entering a Bengals organization that places a much stronger emphasis on character and culture than they have in years’ past. Head coach Zac Taylor noted that he loved Jermaine Burton’s tape and they got to know who he is as a person, and they ultimately decided they were okay selecting him in the third round. Taylor is also aware of the concerns surrounding Burton’s maturity.
“We did our research on all these guys that we’ve talked to and made sure we’re aware of every incident they’ve been a part of,” Taylor said. “There’s certainly maturity things that come with some of these guys coming out of these colleges and that’s one of the things he’ll continue to grow with.”
This is not the first time in franchise history that the Bengals have used a third round pick on a big play receiver who could’ve been taken higher had he not had maturity concerns.
Draft Throwback ⏪
Chris Henry became a Bengal after being picked in the third round of the 2005 #NFLDraft#ProMountaineers | #HailWV pic.twitter.com/aqGPybHoFg
— West Virginia Football (@WVUfootball) April 27, 2023
The character concerns for Chris Henry far outweighed the current concerns for Jermaine Burton, especially since Burton has not faced any legal trouble. In addition, the team culture in which Burton is entering is a far cry from the culture that Chris Henry found himself entering in the mid-2000s. However, even with the improved team culture, Henry should still be used as a cautionary tale as Burton enters his professional career.
On the field, Chris Henry was a supreme talent. In college, he had 22 touchdowns in his two year career at West Virginia. In addition, he had 93 receptions and 1,878 yards, which gave him an average of just over 20 yards per catch. Henry also had six career games with over 100 receiving yards. He was a major vertical threat who could make a big play at any moment.
Over his 5 year NFL career, he notched 119 receptions, 1826 yards, and 21 touchdowns. There were moments in the NFL where he lived up to the expectations and made massive plays. He was even the recipient of the 66 yard pass from Carson Palmer in the 2006 AFC Wild Card Game against Pittsburgh in which Palmer had his ACL torn by Steelers defensive tackle Kimo von Oelhoffen.
Unfortunately, Henry could not get out of his own way. In college, after being ejected from a game against Rutgers for multiple unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, then Mountaineers head coach Rich Rodriguez called him “an embarrassment to himself and the program”. In the NFL, Henry faced various suspensions for repeated personal conduct violations and drug arrests throughout his NFL career. This all culminated in his 2009 passing during a domestic dispute after he fell out of the bed of a truck. Later thereafter, Henry’s brain was found to have developed CTE during his NFL career, which was likely a factor in his off-the-field incidents.
Back in the mid-2000’s, the Bengals were known as a team whose players constantly found themselves in legal trouble, which likely worsened Henry’s chances of mentally adjusting to life in the NFL. Fellow 2005 draftee Odell Thurman was an integral part of the Bengals’ AFC North title in his rookie year, but various off-the-field issues ended his career after only one season. The environment Henry was in at the NFL level, in addition to the CTE that he had developed, likely exacerbated those issues.
However, Zac Taylor’s hire has significantly improved these issues. His high emphasis on character and team culture has adjusted the Bengals’ reputation from being a team where arrests are just another day at the office.
Assuming the strong culture around Jermaine Burton in Cincinnati helps him mentally adjust to being an NFL pro, he will be just fine.
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