Burton Put On 20 Pounds In Preparation For Draft, Had Interest From Several Teams
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
ALLEN PARK - Fullbacks do not generate much excitement in the modern NFL, but Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi is still a fan, and the Lions took Rutgers fullback Michael Burton with the 168th overall pick Saturday. For Burton, being taken in the fifth round was not a surprise.
"The teams that need to utilize fullbacks, they need to get them," Burton said in a teleconference. "People say it's a dying breed, but at the same time, a lot of teams that want to be able to establish the run, be a physical football have those two-back sets."
In an effort to make himself more attractive to the NFL teams considering him, Burton has put on about 20 pounds since leaving Rutgers.
He weighed between 230 and 235 pounds when he left Rutgers, he went to the NFL combine around 242, and then on his pro day he was 250.
"A lot of teams were telling me they wanted to see me around like 245 to 250 range to be able to fulfill the needs they need to meet offensively, at the same time staying quick and athletic for special teams," Burton explained, "so whatever weight the Detroit Lions want me at is where I'm going to be, but right now I'm around 248, 250.
"You never want to put on the weight the wrong way, so it was just constantly eating but all clean eating and hitting the weights hard and stuff like that while also maintaining speed and athleticism, so running," Burton continued. "It was difficult but it was something that I know I needed to do, and I wanted to do it, and I was able to do it, and I was definitely excited about it."
Lions assistant head coach Ron Prince was the offensive coordinator at Rutgers in 2013, so he had a complete understanding of what Detroit would be getting by picking Burton. Burton looks forward to working with Prince again.
"I have a very close relationship with him," Burton said. "It's been a blessing and honor to be coached by him for one year. Unfortunately that's all I got from him was one year, but I learned so much. To be able to reconnect with him down the road is awesome. I can't wait to start working with him again.
"He was offensive coordinator, so he kind of oversaw everything, so when I would go in there, whether it was blocking techniques or assignments or anything like that, he was there," Burton added. "Great football knowledge, which he was able to spread onto me. He's just an excellent coach."
Coming out of high school, Burton had six to eight Division I-AA offers to play running back, but he had confidence he could play at a higher level. He fell in love with Rutgers on a visit and started his college career as a preferred walk-on.
In addition to playing fullback for Detroit, Burton should be able to contribute on special teams, an area that head coach Jim Caldwell has said needs to improve this season.
"I was on every special teams throughout my college career," Burton said. "I played on kickoff, kickoff return, punt, punt block, field goal, I've been a starter on every team, so I have a lot of experience on special teams, and I understand that that's going to be a very important role for me when I get to camp."
In the pre-draft process, Burton had attention from a handful of teams.
"I had dinner with the Cincinnati Bengals before my pro day, and then I took an overnight visit with the Cleveland Browns," Burton said. "I had a private workout with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and then I went to the Jets' and Giants' local days."
