Oakland Raiders: Breaking down new defensive back Juston Burris

The Oakland Raiders have signed former New York Jets defensive back Juston Burris. Here is a brief breakdown of what to expect from the former NC State standout.

The Oakland Raiders may have emerged as the winners of their Week 1 meeting with the Denver Broncos, but the loss of rookie safety Johnathan Abram certainly put a damper on the night. That said, one player’s misfortune is another’s opportunity as Juston Burris is about to find out.

Abram suffered a torn rotator cuff and labrum in Monday night’s game after laying a big hit stick on Broncos receiver DaeSean Hamilton late in the first half. The injury will unfortunately end his season which allowed the Raiders to use his roster spot to sign another player.

In this case, the beneficiary of such a roster move was the aforementioned Burris.

Burris was originally a fourth-round pick of the New York Jets back in 2016 and he would go on to play in 34 games with the team over around two-and-a-half seasons.

While initially showing promise, Burris wouldn’t last too long in New York before he flamed out and was relegated to the practice squad in October of last year.

The Cleveland Browns would soon after pick him up off the Jets’ practice squad and he would go on to make four regular-season appearances in Cleveland. But after being waived during final roster cuts this summer, it was time for Burris to find a new home.

And that home appears to be in Oakland, at least for the time being.

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At six-foot, 212 pounds, Burris is a big-bodied cornerback with impressive physical traits. He showed flashes of that physicality while with the Jets but ultimately his poor technique was too much to overcome.

However, the Browns opted to use Burris as more of an all-around defensive back allowing him to play more safety in his short time with the team. While he wasn’t given much of a chance to play in-game, he worked on his safety skills in practice and training camp.

This is likely where the appeal comes for the Raiders.

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Following Abram’s injury, the team’s safety depth chart is looking a bit thin. Karl Joseph is still penciled in as a starter and he’ll likely be joined by veteran Curtis Riley with a little bit of Erik Harris sprinkled in. We also can’t forget about 2018 undrafted free agent Dallin Leavitt.

Lamarcus Joyner could play some safety too but he’ll likely be too occupied with his starting role as the team’s nickel corner.

Burris’ positional flexibility gives the Raiders yet another defensive back to play with and a player who could feasibly fill in at safety if worst comes to worst.

Not to mention that Burris’ physicality could emulate Abram’s game and make him a great fit for Paul Guenther’s defense. And given that the team is looking to employ more 4-2-5 looks, it’s extremely important to have an abundance of defensive backs on the roster.

Perhaps Burris could find a way to stick around on a Raiders team needing help in the secondary. At the very least, there’s no harm in the move.