INDIANAPOLIS – As college football evolves, the types of players that enter the NFL change with it. This year, there are a plethora of position-ambiguous defensive linemen who potentially have the length and size to play on the interior, but they spent their college careers as EDGE defenders. One of those players to watch in the 2025 NFL Draft class is Oregon DE Jordan Burch.
What complicates matters is that some players shed weight for the NFL Scouting Combine to run a fast 40-yard dash. Burch wants to run a 4.6-second 40, which, at his size, would certainly turn some heads.
Listed at 6-6 (with official measurements not yet posted), Burch said he currently weighs 281 pounds, 14 pounds below his listed play weight.
He told me some teams had asked him to move inside and pack some of that weight back on.
“Some of them brought it up, and I was like, whatever y’all need me to do, I’ll do it. I don’t really have a problem with it. It’s kind of the same as playing on the edge,” he said. “A lot of how you teach the edge, I can do it on the inside…If I go back inside, then I’ll want to add a few more pounds. I’ve been doing it throughout my career, so I can do it.”
Burch was a productive player for Oregon as they won the Big Ten and made it to the College Football Playoffs. He logged 8.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, six passes defensed, and a forced fumble in his final season. He did that by playing more 5-tech than he had at any other point throughout his college career, with about a third of his snaps coming along the interior.
He definitely sees himself as an EDGE defender, just based on the pro players he models his game after.
“Julius Peppers. Right now, Rashan Gary and Trey Hendrickson,” he said.
He recognizes that he has a bigger body than your typical EDGE player and uses that to his advantage.
“I feel like I bring power,” Burch said as his strongest trait. “I’m a bigger guy, so if you need a big guy to hold the edge, I’m the guy you go to.”
That doesn’t mean he lacks quickness. He views that as an underrated part of his game.
“I think some people sleep on it a little bit,” Burch said. “I got a lot of moves in my arsenal.”
As for the things he needs to work on, he didn’t hesitate to list a couple of things he’s been improving over the last year.
“I’d say my get off [and] my counters,” he said. “I think sometimes I watch film, I can do a lot better at both of those and it’s something I gotta work on for the future.”
Burch was supposed to be at the Senior Bowl last month, but a lingering ankle issue from the season held him out of the action.
“I still had a little ankle inflammation, and my agent wanted me to see what the real problem was,” Burch said. “We just took the time to figure it out and get everything done right.”
It was a grade-one sprained ankle from the Maryland game this past year.
Because he wasn’t at the Senior Bowl, he was a prime candidate for the Steelers to hold a formal meeting to learn more about him. He confirmed that he had a formal meeting scheduled for later in the day.
He was also asked who the toughest player he played against in college was. His answer was one of the newest Steelers from last year’s draft.
“I’m gonna say Troy [Fautanu] in Washington. I think he went to Pittsburgh. He was pretty good,” Burch said. “He was so technique-sound. His kicks, he was always in the right spot. I think he was handling power pretty well and moves on the outside. He was always there. And in the run, he was pretty good, too—just an all-around good player to go against. And I think another thing is he wasn’t as tall; he was like a guard at tackle. He kind of fit pretty well.”
Perhaps Burch will have the opportunity to continue improving after that tough matchup against Fautanu if the Steelers decide to work with him as a 5-tech defensive end, though he would be a bit of a project to bulk up and get experience on the interior.
View our scouting report on Burch below.
