NC State star DJ Burns could be an intriguing NFL prospect but there are obstacles

During his nearly two decades as an NFL scout, Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy would often watch college basketball games with an eye on body types that might translate to football. If he saw something he liked, Nagy would Google the player’s name to see if he played the sport in high school.

“My brain is just wired to watch basketball players and think about what they’d look like in shoulder pads and helmets,” he said. “And that’s all football guys, not just me. I just think that’s how we are.”

Watching No. 11 North Carolina State play No. 3 Duke in last weekend’s Elite Eight, Nagy was quickly drawn to N.C. State forward DJ Burns, the 6-foot-9, 275-pound senior who scored 29 points to lead the Wolfpack’s 76-64 upset.

“Anyone else having trouble watching N.C State big man DJ Burns and not thinking about him kick-sliding in pass pro or getting out on pulls? Can't just be me,” Nagy wrote on X.

Within a few hours, Nagy heard from three contacts in the NFL — a general manager, an assistant general manager and a director of college scouting — who validated his assessment: I’m sitting here thinking the same exact thing, they each told Nagy.

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N.C. State’s unexpected NCAA men’s tournament run continues with Saturday’s Final Four matchup against No. 1 Purdue. For Burns, another standout performance against the Boilermakers and center Zach Edey could give NBA talent evaluators reason to select the fifth-year senior at some point in the two rounds of this year’s draft.

If professional basketball doesn’t come calling, however, Burns’ combination of size and athleticism could earn him the chance to make an unprecedented move from NCAA power forward to NFL offensive tackle.

“You see a big guy out there with nimble feet and soft hands, with touch and skill, body control for a big guy,” said Nagy. “I mean, some of the moves he makes, it takes really good body control. And that’s all rooted in offensive line play.”

Whether Burns becomes a serious candidate for the NFL depends first and foremost on his own interest in leaving basketball behind. That seems unlikely based on his response this week to questions regarding the potential move to football.

“With my size and everything, there’s going to be all the memes and jokes and what-ifs and everything,” he said on ESPN. “It’s all cool for the media. I’m a basketball player. I’m pretty sure about that.”

N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts put it even more bluntly: There’s “no way he’s going to play football,” he said on Thursday.

“I mean, listen, he's got a great touch,” Keatts added. “He's not that bully that you guys think. You spent some time with him? He's a teddy bear off the court."

And even if he is interested, there are other questions NFL teams would ask before investing in Burns as an offensive tackle prospect, Nagy said. Is he tough enough? Will he work to remake his body composition to handle the physicality of line play? Most importantly, will teams view him as a future starter? If not, would a front office and coaching staff be willing to spend two or more years developing a backup lineman?

“He knows how to put shoulder pads on, but that’s it. There’s going to be a pretty steep learning curve,” Nagy said. “From the athleticism and the body control and the feet, the balance, the natural coordination, I mean, there’s a lot of stuff there that he already has. But the other stuff would make it a process.”

Multiple former college basketball players have made the transition to the NFL without playing a down of college football, though nearly all at a specific position, tight end. The most successful was Antonio Gates, who compiled a potential Hall of Fame career with the San Diego and Los Angeles Chargers after helping Kent State reach the Elite Eight as a junior in 2002 and earning honorable mention All-America honors as a senior. Others include Jimmy Graham, Rico Gathers and current Indianapolis Colts tight end Mo Alie-Cox.

“The hand-eye coordination and the leverage was the biggest transition for me in terms of what I brought from the court,” Gates said. “That helped me tremendously, because I was so used to guarding bigger human beings. It made it feel easier. Whether or not it was easier, it felt easier in terms of attacking the ball in the air.”

But making the move from basketball to tight end is easier than the same transition to offensive tackle. While raw athletes can contribute quickly as pass-catching tight ends, playing offensive line requires a more complete skill set: size, power, athleticism and footwork along with a concrete grasp of how defenses operate — the latter a big question mark for Burns, who hasn’t played football since the eighth grade.

“That was the uphill battle that I had, just understanding the game,” said Gates. “I didn’t know so many nuances were in the game of football. I thought guys played, ran and caught the ball. There’s so much put into the game. Can you learn the playbook? Can you understand protections? Can you understand certain schemes? Now you’ve got to learn what you’re doing and learn what they’re doing.”

The closest comparison might be Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata, who played rugby in Australia and was drafted by the Eagles in the 2018 draft after training with the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program. Mailata didn’t log a snap in his first two years but has since developed into one of the league’s top tackles, earning him a three-year contract extension this week worth as much as $66 million.

One thing that’s almost certain: NFL talent evaluators “would definitely show up” if Burns had an open workout in the coming weeks, said Nagy, who estimated that most teams would have a representative in attendance if Burns worked out between now and the draft in late April. But any interested NFL front office would have to ignore Burns’ lack of football experience to see the framework of a potential contributor at one of the key positions on the field.

“You have to have a certain mindset, a will to do those things,” Gates said. “He’s capable of it, that’s for sure. The desire … will he have the desire and the will? Is he willing to do the necessary steps? That’s the glamorous part of it, playing and making money. It’s really going to come down to your toughness and your ability to persevere when it gets tough.”