When NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock referred to Arizona State linebacker Vontaze Burfict as “a non-draftable kid,” it seemed to perfectly encapsulate what had happened to Burfict over the last several months: Once considered an elite talent, Burfict combined off-field problems, a lack of production on the field late in his college career and terrible performances at the Combine and his Pro Day to make himself look like he doesn’t belong in the NFL.
Burfict says he knows Mayock is just doing his job, but he also wants Mayock to know that his comments stung.
“If I could talk to him, I would ask him why is he being so hurtful to a young man and trying to trash me,” Burfict told Aaron Wilson of Scout.com. “I think about what he said with every rep that I do in the weight room. I use the criticism as motivation, but I like Mayock. I have a lot of respect for him. I would just ask him to be fair.”
Burfict neither confirmed nor denied the report that he failed a Combine drug test, but he acknowledged that he has used marijuana.
“I talked to some teams, and I told them I had smoked marijuana before,” Burfict said. “It’s not like I’m the only person that has ever done that.”
Burfict realizes that he won’t be the first-round pick he was once projected as, but he says he’s content because he believes his future is in God’s hands.
“I don’t care where I get drafted because God will place me somewhere great,” Burfict said. “Wherever I go, I will cherish it and play my hardest. I will be grateful for the opportunity and make the best of it. I can’t wait for that to happen.”