So Utah has two safeties in the draft: Julian Blackmon and Terrell Burgess. They are both converted cornerbacks. Blackmon tended to play more as a single-high safety and Burgess played closer to the line-of-scrimmage, though not as a traditional box safety.
Normally I would prefer the guy who plays the single-high, but as I watch some tape, Blackmon does not do much on a lot of plays. Against Oregon, the Ducks just ignored Blackmon; and USC torched him on a few plays. I think his numbers are good (only 17 catches for 200 yards in 2019) because, generally, teams did not attack Utah deep.
Burgess is just a straight-up better prospect. He allowed under five yards per target in 2019 (40 targets against for 190 yards), one interception, and five pass deflections. Allowing under five yards per target - as a safety - is completely unreal.
And, unlike Blackmon, it seems like teams could have targeted Burgess, but generally, avoided him. When they did target Burgess, though, he was not giving up a lot of yardage. He is a good tackler against short-yardage passing or slot receivers and lock-down when he has to play deeper. This footage against Washington is just dominant, but frankly, the footage against Oregon demonstrates exactly what I am talking about. Burgess just has a bigger play-to-play impact, even if Blackmon is more pro-ready.
The concern with Burgess is he only started for one season and may be best as a Cover 2 or Tampa 2 safety. But man, he may be my favorite safety project that I have watched. He is just so talented.
