At the most desperate time for the Saints wide receiver room, the team went out and got exactly what the position group needed. An energetic and passionate wide receiver coach in Kodi Burns who spent the past year as the receiver coach in Tennessee. Prior to spending a year in Tennessee he was the receivers coach at Auburn.
The Saints targeting a young guy for the receiver coach (33 years young) is a huge aspect as to why Burns was hired in my opinion. He is only a few years older than Michael Thomas, but the experience Burns has as a player and coach will be needed for the other guy’s development as a NFL receiver. He can relate to the guys he’s coaching. He knows the ups and downs of being a receiver. His players at Auburn and Tennessee said he’s a relatable guy who keeps it real. He will tell you things that you might not wanna hear but it just means he wants you to improve upon it, which is something the Saints didn’t get enough of last season.
So why do I think a college receiver coach is better than an NFL receiver coach for the Saints? Burns is an energizer, a leader, and someone that is respected by his players. He brings the same energy that Ryan Nielsen brought the Saints and that’s something the receiver room needs desperately. He leads and coaches by example. He wants his players to win every snap, whether it be in practice, drills, or training. He wants his guys to win in everything.
Burns’ competitive nature to win every down and every rep is contagious, and it will mix well with Michael Thomas who already has that mindset and is the leader of that receiver room. That energy will spread around the rest of the group and make everyone want to be better.
You might be thinking to yourself, so he’s a good energetic guy, but how does that improve the Saints receiver room? How does he develop guys better? How can he get the Saints receivers into an elite group of guys?
Burns’ most important aspect to being a receiver is ball skills. He said in an interview that his main priority is making sure the receivers can make competitive catches. Make catches in traffic. Naturally track the ball well. The adjustments to make tough catches. Those are the things Burns starts off with, those are the fundamentals and foundation that the Saints struggled with last year and aside from Michael Thomas, have struggled with for quite a while.
Once those fundamentals get worked on Burns goes to route running and release. Are the breaks and cuts at the end of the route too rounded off? Was there a false step in the release? These are things that were problems with the Saints last year. Rounded off routes and slow releases made it predictable for the corner to know when to jump the route and how to play each down. Guys like Marquez Callaway and Tre’Quan Smith (if he comes back) can take that next step in the NFL if they get these fundamentals down and improve. We’ve seen them make plays but not consistently on a week to week basis, so maybe Burns coaching and philosophy gets them to take that next step as players who need development.
Once that basic foundation is set in stone, then Burns worries about the yards after the catch, change of direction, the ability to make plays happen with the ball in your hands which is something the Saints haven’t had in quite a while. An explosive guy in the yards after catch game, and to be honest the last guy who was like that was Brandin Cooks.
Burns’ coaching style is what the room needs to get the development and growth that is needed. Restart. Go back to basics. Then once those basics are at a comfortable spot then go onto the next phase which is yards after the catch.
A notable name that he’s coached is Darius Slayton. Venus Jones is a wide receiver in this upcoming draft that could be interesting in a Saints uniform as well. I looked back through his coaching career and the receivers he had, Slayton is the only one to have a somewhat successful career in the NFL. A lot of it had to do with the scheme, only one time did one of his receivers get 1K yards and that was this past season at Tennessee with the other wideout getting 800 yards. Auburn wasn’t holding him back, it was the scheme just wasn’t flashy for receivers, now after a year in Tennessee he found himself his first NFL job after a flashy and explosive year with his players in Tennessee.
The current receivers under contract for Burns to work with include Michael Thomas, Marquez Callaway, Easop Winston, Kevin White, Kawaan Baker, Jalen McCleskey, and Kirk Merritt.
The free agent wide receivers for the Saints include Deonte Harty, Lil’Jordan Humphrey, Tre’Quan Smith, Kenny Stills, Ty Montgomery.
It’ll be interesting to see how Burns develops some of these guys and some rookies this upcoming offseason in his first NFL coaching gig.
Written by Kadin Janisch
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