The NFL Draft Combine is one of the most important events in the draft process.
A chance to compete and show off your athletic excellence in front of scouts and general managers, the combine is often the biggest factor in players rising in stock from the beginning of the offseason to draft night.
Just look at Matthew Golden’s rise last year. In December, Golden was a mid-round pick at WR. By the time he had run a 4.29 40 and a 1.49 10-yard split, he was hearing his name called on the first night of the NFL Draft.
Fortunately for many Longhorns this year, they’ll have the opportunity to showcase their speed and provide teams with verifiable measurables and drill reps in Indianapolis later this month.
But among the names like Jack Endries, Anthony Hill, and Michael Taaffe, who have all been invited, is a player many are surprised isn’t a part of the list: defensive end Ethan Burke.
Burke played over 1,100 snaps in Austin over four seasons with the Longhorns, starting in 2023 and 2025, as well as playing key rotational minutes in 2024. Burke registered 19 or more pressures in all three years and ended his career with 26.5 career tackles for loss and double-digit sacks.
It’s a really big surprise to see his name not a part of this list of future pros. The combine invited 319 players, including 63 defensive linemen, one of whom is former teammate Trey Moore.
It’s odd to see. Burke has been a key part of two CFB semifinal teams, alongside another year of starting.
Take Marvin Jones Jr., for example. Jones was a DL for Georgia for two years and wasn’t a big part of the rotation in either year. He played a season at Florida State and then Oklahoma this past year. He’s now entering the draft and has been invited to the combine despite having far fewer career tackles or TFLs and worse pass-rushing production.
The same goes for a player like Jack Pyburn, a generally unproductive player in his time at Florida and LSU, and Quintayvious Hutchins, an even less productive pass rusher at Boston College.
Burke currently sits as a UDFA and the No. 408 overall player according to consensus big boards, behind the above players, but those often don’t focus on later-round players before the combine.
When we had Bengal on the YouTube channel last week, he saw Burke as a mid-round pick in this year’s draft. He had just measured in at 6’7″, 270, with nearly a seven-foot wingspan. That’s clearly the type of body NFL teams want on their rosters, and he has good enough production to warrant an invite.
It’s an unfortunate lost opportunity for Burke, who many Longhorn fans assume will be drafted, at least by the sixth round. This allows for a lot of the players mentioned above to improve their draft stocks while Burke is left hoping teams liked what they saw out of him from the Senior Bowl.
Texas Football NFL Draft Combine Participants:
TE Jack Endries
OG DJ Campbell
LB/ED Trey Moore
LB Anthony Hill Jr.
CB Jaylon Guilbeau
CB Malik Muhammad
SAF Michael Taaffe