He doesn’t look the part, but he keeps making plays . . .
The player I’m talking about is Jets wide receiver Deontay Burnett.
He’s not the biggest receiver (6-0, 186) or the fastest (4.7 forty), he’s just a good football player.
He had one of the best catches of Monday’s Jets practice, an impressive grab in the corner of the end zone on a pass from Trevor Siemian in tight coverage.
With the foot injury to Jamison Crowder, you are going to hear his name a lot more.
Burnett started last year on the Jets’ practice squad and was promoted to the active roster on October 20. In Week 8 against the Chicago Bears, Burnett led the team with four catches for 61 receiving yards. Perhaps he should have played more.
Burnett was Sam Darnold’s favorite receiver at USC in 2017, hauling in 86 catches and nine touchdowns. He entered the draft after that season and went undrafted likely due to his unimpressive size-speed ratio on paper.
But the game isn’t played on paper.
So while Burnett isn’t particularly big or fast, he consistently gets open, has good hands, and has amazing chemistry with Darnold.
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