Bengals Draft Depot

Safety is a loaded position in this year's draft class and a good one can be had probably until the 4th round. There are alot of Safeties who are getting that mid to late 2nd round grade which is where the Bengals select. One of those players is Morgan Burnett. Coming into the 2009 season Burnett was thought to be the 3rd Safety behind Eric Berry and Taylor Mays. He played in every game as a freshman and led Georgia Tech in interceptions. His sophomore season in 2008 was spectacular. He had 93 tackles, 7 interceptions, and 15 passes defended. His numbers were down a little in 2009 but that could be due to opposing QB's opting not to throw in his direction.

Morgan Burnett has great speed for a Safety to go along with his good size. He could be the most agile Safety in this class besides Berry. Burnett is very good in the zone, diagnosing plays quickly. He also has the ability to line up on a WR and cover man to man. He gets a good break on the ball when the ball is in the air. Has good hands allowing him to come down with the pick when the opportunity presents itself. Burnett has the skills to play either FS or SS. He is willing to come up and play the run and does a pretty good job at it. Uses good form when making the tackle.

Some negatives on Burnett is he could get outmuscled in the open field when going up against a Tight End. Burnett sometimes gets caught taking a bad angle and has to rely on his athleticism to get back into the play. The fact that his numbers were down from his sophomore to his junior season could be a cause for concern.

Burnett would be a good fit with the Bengals. In college he played the Rover position which is basically a mix between a SS and a FS. That's what the Bengals use as they don't really differentiate between the 2 Safety positions, a player needs to be able to play both positions and Burnett can do that. Burnett is a good all around Safety, he can do pretty much everything a Safety does well.