Oren Burks, the Bengals' senior linebacker drafted in the same 2018 third round the Ravens took Orlando Brown Jr., the Steelers took Mason Rudolph, and the Bengals took Sam Hubbard, came into the league halfway between the rookies he finds himself mentoring.
Demetrius Knight Jr., has been starting since they took him in the second round. Barrett Carter came out of the fourth round to grab the green dot from Logan Wilson, now in Dallas. The 30-year-old Burks, who last year went from the practice squad to the big parade in Philadelphia, is a resource of resilience as the first backer off the bench.
"He's been an ideal veteran and even more. Gives you anything you need. He'll give you the shirt off his own back," Knight says. "There are so many golden nuggets he gives us. Not just me, but Barrett and all the guys. When we have questions, even when we don't have questions, he beats us to the punch."
It's been bloody. Knight and Carter are learning on the job in a maze of points and yards, and Burks, the thoughtful, bespectacled former president of the Vanderbilt student-athlete advisory committee, is there with eight seen-it-all NFL seasons.
"I've gotten better during my career. That's what I keep encouraging these guys. They're light years ahead of me where I was my rookie year," Burks says. "For them to be thrown into the fire, it's a hard position to be in, but that's what is called to be a pro. Just keep growing. Just keep getting better because they definitely have the traits. I see a lot of my younger self in them.
"The athleticism. Their knowledge of the game is definitely up there. It's just allowing the game to slow down for them and play fast. In terms of football I.Q., I think they're definitely ahead of where I was as a rookie."
That's because Burks played safety and hybrid outside backer before he settled on inside backer his last year at Vandy. Then he had to come to terms with being used primarily as a special teamer in the league, but he's always been there when needed most from scrimmage.
By sticking to the grind and the basics, Burks has played all but nine snaps in the last two Super Bowls. He worked 71 of the 79 plays next to All-Pro Fred Warner in the 49ers' overtime loss to the Chiefs. Last year, he played all but one snap next to Eagles Pro Bowler Zack Baun in Philly's win to end a season that is a lesson in perseverance.
He began '24 getting released at the final cutdown after a knee injury in training camp. Then, after he was promoted from the practice squad, he didn't take a snap from scrimmage until the sixth game and didn't start until the 16th game before starting for the injured Nakobe Dean in the last three postseason games.
"I've seen all sides of it and I've got a ring," Burks says. "I play my best ball when I get away from the noise. The building knows the work I've put in, the process internally when I look in the mirror. Am I doing everything I can to be prepared when the time comes? That's what it comes down to."
Vincent Rey, the former Bengals linebacker who was a version of Burks in the previous decade and is now their chaplain, says Burks "is a standard-setter," who is also quietly one of their best special-teamers.
Burks was there again Sunday when he played a season-high 37 scrimmage snaps in the biggest game of the year for his club, splitting the 74 with Knight. Defensive coordinator Al Golden indicated it was a product of the game plan for the Steelers in an effort to lessen Knight's responsibilities and take advantage of Burks' ability to play both backer spots in a package with edges Joseph Ossai and Cedric Johnson.
"It was more a function of getting Joe and Ced in the game and then not overloading Demetrius to learn that spot and the other spot if we did go to another package during the game, which we did," Golden said. "We were in and out of packages there."
Burks came through with eight tackles, the second most of his career, exactly what Golden expected from the room's mentor.
"I thought he played well … and he brings experience and poise to the position. I think a lot of the guys feed off of that," Golden says. "He's a tremendous human being overall, and I think that resonates in that room. He is somebody that's embraced the mentor role in there with the young guys, so I think he's been a valuable asset for us."
Ted Karras, the senior offensive player, says he learned his big NFL lesson in his rookie year: "Know who you are." Burks knows exactly who he is and doesn't mind passing it on to his rookies.
"I feel like I'm a leader. Not the rah-rah guy. I try to lead through my process," Burks says. "The way I handle myself through the good times and bad. Voice of reason sometimes. Wisdom. Be steady."