Burton’s road to scoring a touchdown in Philadelphia’s 41-33 win over New England began four years ago when the rookie defied the draft and earned a spot on the Eagles’ roster.
“I wanted to make a team. I didn’t care what team,” Burton said. “I didn’t really have a position coming into the NFL. I went to the Combine as a tight end, and as soon as the last practice was over, two or three scouts came up to me at the same time and said, “‘Hey, are you still going to work out?’
“No one really knew what position I was going to be in. (Then coach) Chip Kelly took a flyer and invited me to be a part of the team. And I had unbelievable veterans. I had guys like Brent Celek. I had them. (Zach) Ertz, James Casey. I had and a really good coach in Justin Peele. I had really good guys around me. And they sacrificed. Every time I wanted to go after the other reps, James or Ertz or Celek were there.
“So it was honestly like a team effort really. It wasn’t a lot that I did. It was like, ‘Hey, I’m available. Teach me and show me what it’s like to be a professional.’ I owe a lot of my early success to those guys.”
With the Eagles in four of his seven seasons in the NFL, finishing with Chicago and Indianapolis, Burton feels his start in Philadelphia was a matter of being in the right place at the right time.
“I like to think that I played for two of the best programs in terms of fan bases, organizations, history, culture, how rich it is at the University of Florida and Philadelphia,” Burton said. “Philly is just special, man. It’s blue-collar. They love their sports, but they love their football.
“It’s just a special place. There’s no way to put a few words together to describe it just because it’s so complicated. I ended up going to Philadelphia, so it was a bit of a culture shock at first. But what I can really say is that it has a special place in my heart, and I have nothing but love for the city.”
