Jordan Burch Scouting Report
By: Michael Higgins
(Image courtesy of Darby Winter/Ducks Digest)
School: Oregon
Class: Senior
Position: EDGE
HT: 6’4
WT: 279 lbs
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Background: Jordan Burch was one of the best players in the class of 2020. He was a consensus 5-star edge rusher and defensive tackle out of Columbia, South Carolina. He was rated as a top 200 recruit of all time by 247 Composite. Burch played for Hammond High School in South Carolina. He led Hammond to three straight 3A titles. As a senior in 2019, he was named an All-American selection. Burch was a captain in the Under Armour All-American Game. Jordan Burch chose to play for South Carolina over basically any school in the country.
College: Burch appeared in 8 games as a true freshman in 2020. He finished the year with 2.5 tackles for loss. By the end of the 2021 season, he was a starter for the Gamecocks. He finished 2022 with 7.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. His development and trajectory took longer than expected to progress but later in his career he showed flashes of what he could be. After 3 years of climbing the depth chart and fighting for his spot at South Carolina, Jordan Burch transferred to Oregon. Burch earned All-Pac 12 honorable mention with 3 sacks and 7.5 TFLs. 2024 saw Burch blossom into the elite talent that recruits saw him as out of high school.
Strengths: Jordan Burch has intimidating size for an edge rusher. Despite being so large, he has elite athleticism, allowing him to win in a multitude of ways. Burch explodes into the pads of his assignment to get violent in the phone booth. He loves setting the tone with physicality and winning with power. Burch can consistently convert speed to power off the edge. While being able to rely on that speed to win his matchups, he also has a large toolkit at his disposal in terms of pass rushing moves. He has a devastating spin move that puts offensive tackles into a blender. Burch’s size provides versatility as he can rush from the interior of the line and even line up at 3 tech if need be. He is stout run defender both on the edge and inside. He has quick change of direction ability and sharp footwork to allow him to react to the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage. He is rarely fooled by a double move in the run game and is a great tackler around the line of scrimmage.
Weaknesses: Burch has the traits to be an extremely productive pass rusher but has not produced the numbers at the collegiate level to back it up. In the run game, he shows difficulty to shed doubles or chip blocks and can be made ineffective. Burch shows an eagerness to get into the backfield and make a play, which can ultimately hurt the team. He overshoots his gaps and is susceptible to being fooled by play action. While he shows flashes of bend and ankle flexion, he does not play at a consistent pad level and plays too high when rushing from the interior.
Conclusion: Jordan Burch is a powerful edge rusher who can win in a variety of ways. He can come into the NFL and play a majority of snaps right away as he is an effective pass rusher and run defender. His ability to line up at multiple spots along the defensive front gives his defense options on personnel groupings.
Scheme Fit: Scheme Versatile
Ideal Role: 5 tech
Best Team Fits: DAL, CIN, PHI
Player Comparison: Ziggy Ansah
Player Grade: Round 2 (84.3)
