Kendric Burney Scouting Report

For his first three seasons at North Carolina, Kendric Burney did not miss a start at his cornerback position. As a freshman in 2007, the 5-9 Jacksonville, North Carolina native did a superb job for such a young player who was thrown into the fire from day one. On the year he tallied 50 tackles and broke up four passes. He also picked off a pass which he returned for a touchdown. As a sophomore those numbers just kept getting better. Burney tallied an impressive 78 tackles, including 7.5 tackles-for-loss. On top of breaking up five passes, Burney continued to be a ball hawk and picked off three passes.

The interception theme would continue in 2009. Even while teams avoided Burney, he still managed to intercept five passes. His tackle and passes defended numbers were down, but that was more a result of the opposition avoiding his side of the field than anything else. Burney's starting streak ended at the beginning of 2010 as he missed the first six games of the season while serving a suspension dished out by the NCAA for receiving improper benefits. He missed a seventh game for what UNC called an "unresolved issue." Burney finally got back on the field in late October and in five regular season games tallied 24 tackles and recorded his tenth career interception.

Burney could only do so much for the North Carolina defense after sitting out for so long during his senior season. His 5-9 frame has always been a concern to many NFL teams and now they have even more of a reason to let the corner slide down their draft boards. While Burney was serving his suspension, other corners have had productive seasons and flown past him on many draft boards. Burney will have to have some good workouts, which is certainly possible since he can run a 4.4 40, to move out of the middle rounds.

2/8 Update: Burney began impressing scouts at the Senior Bowl. He was one of the toughest corners and showed great footwork and movement. During a week of practice where he had to go up against some quality receivers, Burney certainly helped his stock. His lack of size is still an issue, but there is no reason to believe he cannot be a fine special teams player and a quality nickelback.