Denzel Burke to Reveal NFL Draft Decision After New Year

Denzel Burke Shutting Down His Side of the Field, Which “Gives Everybody Confidence” in Ohio State's Secondary | Eleven Warriors

Junior cornerback Denzel Burke will reveal whether he will spend the 2024 season playing in the NFL or with the Ohio State Buckeyes on Wednesday, January 10.

Ohio State Buckeyes cornerback Denzel Burke has officially set a date.

No, the Buckeyes junior is not getting married (at least not yet). Burke announced he would reveal his decision between returning to Ohio State for his senior season or declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft on Wednesday, January 10.

Burke has already said he will play in the 2023 Goodyear Cotton Bowl on Friday, December 29 against the Missouri Tigers. When asked why it was so important to him to play against the Tigers, the Phoenix, Arizona-native told reporters he wants to end this season on a high note regardless of where he is next year.

Denzel Burke Shutting Down His Side of the Field, Which “Gives Everybody Confidence” in Ohio State's Secondary | Eleven Warriors

“To finish the season with my brothers,” Burke said. “It’s an extra game on tape for scouts. Just finish the year off strong and have momentum going into next year’s team.”

Burke is one of several draft-eligible players currently weighing their options for the coming year, tallying the pros and cons of both rising to the big leagues or coming back for one last campaign. Defensive end Jack Sawyer said he will “more than likely” return to the Buckeyes next season, while running back Miyan Williams announced his entrance into the draft earlier this month.

Burke said he has already made up his mind, but will be ready to make his choice public on January 10.

One of the factors that influenced Burke’s decision (whatever it may be) was not having defeated the Michigan Wolverines so far over his time at Ohio State. Burke said above wanting to hear his name called among the earlier picks in the NFL Draft, he wants to have a legacy he can look back on whenever he visits Columbus later in life.

Denzel Burke Shutting Down His Side of the Field, Which “Gives Everybody Confidence” in Ohio State's Secondary | Eleven Warriors

“That’s a big thing,” Burke said. “Especially for me, man. I want to be a top-10 pick. But not only that, I want to have something to show for it down the road. To be able to show my kids and my family while I was at Ohio State, we won something. That’s playing a big factor for me. When the time comes, y’all will know.”

Ohio State’s Jack Sawyer ‘More Than Likely Returning in 2024

The Ohio State Buckeyes could be getting one of their top players back next season in defensive end Jack Sawyer

The Ohio State Buckeyes could conceivably lose many of the top players on their roster to either graduation or the NFL Draft.

Some of that has already started, with former starting QB Kyle McCord hitting the transfer portal, while it appears that Marvin Harrison Jr. is also likely on his way out.

However, many of the other top players on the roster who could theoretically be drafted on Day 1 or Day 2, are also seriously considering returning to make a run at a Big Ten Title in 2024 – and maybe more.

Denzel Burke Shutting Down His Side of the Field, Which “Gives Everybody Confidence” in Ohio State's Secondary | Eleven Warriors

Defensive end Jack Sawyer is one of those players. And though he hasn’t outright said he is going to be back in Columbus next season, he certainly seems to be leaning that way. “I don’t know, we’ll see,” Sawyer said when asked if he would be taking part in the season opener vs. Akron next fall. “More than likely, yeah. Probably.”

Sawyer is the latest player to hint at a return as well. Not just for himself, but for other impact players on the roster as well.

Should that happen, those players know they could make some serious noise in 2024, and it is something they have talked about at length.

But perhaps more importantly, those players seem to recognize that they are capable of taking a serious jump – much like they did from 2021 to 2022 on the defensive side of the ball.

“You saw what happens when you build off the first year into the second year, how big of a jump you can take,” Sawyer said. “I still think, personally, we have another big jump to take next year if we all decide to come back.”

Denzel Burke Shutting Down His Side of the Field, Which “Gives Everybody Confidence” in Ohio State's Secondary | Eleven Warriors

Denzel Burke to Reveal NFL Draft Decision After New Year

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