TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida State defensive end Brian Burns was drafted 16th overall in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers on Thursday evening.
Burns is the 45th first-round draft pick from Florida State, tied for the 10th-highest total all-time, and gives FSU its 41st player drafted since 2013, which is tied for the third-highest total in the nation. Since the 2010 NFL Draft, Florida State has produced 11 first-round picks and 52 total draftees. Burns’ selection also pushes FSU’s streak with at least one draft pick to 36 straight years, a run that began in 1984, and he is the 196th Seminole drafted in that stretch.
The Panthers made Burns the 50th defensive lineman drafted from Florida State and the 28th taken in the first three rounds. He is the ninth first-round defensive end from FSU. The Seminoles have had 10 defensive linemen selected in the last seven drafts, and Burns is the seventh in that span taken in the first two rounds. He is the highest-drafted defensive lineman from Florida State since 2006, when Kamerion Wimbley was the 13th pick and Brodrick Bunkley was 14th.
Burns, who declared for the NFL Draft with one year of eligibility remaining, ended his career at Florida State ranked fifth in program history with 24.0 sacks and eighth all-time with 39.5 tackles for loss. His career included 25 starts in 38 games played with 124 tackles, seven forced fumbles, seven pass breakups, three blocked kicks and two fumble recoveries.
In his final season in Tallahassee, the Fort Lauderdale native earned first-team All-ACC honors, was named a fourth-team All-American by Phil Steele and was a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award. He recorded 52 tackles, including 15.5 for loss with 10.0 sacks, eight quarterback hurries, three forced fumbles, three pass breakups and one fumble recovery. He led the ACC with 15.5 tackles for loss, 112 tackles for loss yards, 10.0 sacks and 94 sack yards lost in conference play, and his sacks per game average ranked first in the ACC and eighth in the NCAA. He also ranked third in the conference in forced fumbles per game and fifth in tackles for loss per game.
Coverage of the draft continues on ABC, ESPN and NFL Network, with rounds two and three beginning at 7 p.m. Friday and rounds four through seven Saturday beginning at noon.
