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Danny Moloshok/Associated Press

You may know Nate Burleson from Good Morning Football on NFL Network, the CBS Sunday pregame show or from his long career as a wide receiver for the Vikings, Seahawks and Lions. Soon, you will also see him as the New York correspondent for the syndicated variety show Extra Extra and hear him as the voice of this year's DraftKings Daily Fantasy ad campaign. Burleson spent a few minutes with Gridiron Digest recently to preview the season and deliver some of his Bur-Lessons—about the Patriots and other topics and to discuss his plans to take over all media:

Gridiron Digest: You said on Good Morning Football recently that Jacoby Brissett can lead the Colts to the playoffs and become their franchise quarterback. We know he has the tools. What's the biggest step he must take to achieve that potential?

Burleson: We saw him in the 2017 season make certain throws that really caught your attention. But there were also times when he held onto the ball just a little too long. Being a big, strong-armed quarterback with a windup motion, he has to play with a little more anticipation. So being quicker and a little more decisive getting the ball out to his pass-catchers is going to be the key.

Digest: You also said that this might be the Patriots' most dangerous wide receiver corps in a long time. We all know Josh Gordon's potential and his past. But do the Patriots really have the depth to compensate for the loss of Rob Gronkowski?

Burleson: I have a gut feeling that Gronk is gonna be back in Week 8. He'll take some time to relax, let his body heel, rub that CBD oil all over his body, and then he's gonna get the urge and the team's gonna have the desire to get him back out on the field.

But as for the guys who are there: Julian Edelman is gonna be a fixture in the offense as he always is. When Gordon is focused, he's uber-talented. N'Keal Harry has to be in an almost perfect situation. I almost envy him: playing with Tom Brady, a shining example like Julian Edelman to teach him how to get open, and the chance to talk to someone like Josh Gordon, who fumbled away an opportunity time after time but still has a chance to rewrite his narrative. And I'm just talking about the wide receivers. We haven't even mentioned the running backs, and they're as deep as it gets.

For 31 other teams, you focus on stopping two or three guys, and you have a great chance of stopping that offense. If you focus on two or three guys on the Patriots, you'd better guess right. Otherwise you'll get your butt lit up.

Digest: Which of the second-year quarterbacks is poised to make the biggest improvement?

Burleson: Baker Mayfield has an opportunity to go from 27 touchdowns in a season where he didn't even start until Week 3 to 35, maybe 40 touchdowns.

I also think Lamar Jackson can prove that he's a passer. There are people who think he can't throw the ball. That's ridiculous. If you look at the playoff game that they lost last year, they didn't let him throw it until late in the second half, and all of a sudden they started scoring points. When teams try to stop the run this year, Lamar's gonna shock people by throwing the rock.

And keep in mind that it was really Patrick Mohomes' rookie season last year. He barely touched the field in 2017. I don't know if Mahomes is going to hit for 50 touchdowns again, but he's going to be pretty close.

Digest: Speaking of Mahomes, is there any way to stop him?

Burleson: There's only one way to stop a good quarterback, and that's to hit him. We're talking old-school, shoulder pads in the middle of his chest, make him pick himself off the ground. So I did a deep dive on how Patrick Mahomes performs under duress, and against the blitz he threw 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions last year, which is unbelievable.

When you blitz most young quarterbacks, they panic. But when you blitz Mahomes, it's like he powers up, like it's a video game. He gets excited, he starts winking and doing the Tiger Woods fist pump, looking at his hand like Shaq coming back from a fast break. It's crazy. If you blitz him, you're gonna get struck. Travis Kelce is faster than your linebackers. Tyreek Hill is faster than everybody. Mecole Hardman is Tyreek Hill 2.0.

His interceptions came when teams didn't blitz him. He has such a big arm that he'll sit back there, burp the baby, pat the ball and then try to throw into places only Mahomes can fit it in. So put pressure on your D-line to get to him with four or five guys. Everybody else just needs to make it difficult. Collapse those windows and make the throws as tight as possible.

Digest: You have already interviewed Tracy Morgan and Roger Federer for Extra Extra. Is there a non-football celebrity that you are dying for a chance to interview?

Burleson: I would love to sit down with Will Smith. He's the ultimate entertainer. And I'm a guy who had a long career in the NFL, transitioned into TV and am now transitioning into the entertainment space. Will is just a walking testament of how to transition in and out of spaces. He went from local rapper to worldwide phenomenon to TV superstar, then he jumps right off that onto the movie screen, with movie after movie and single after single on the soundtracks. Then he disappears for a while, wakes up one morning and thinks, "I'm gonna take over Instagram." And he did! So I want to sit down and get the secret sauce.

Digest: What made you decide to become the voice of DraftKings?

Burleson: It's an honor to be the voice of anything. I'm 38 and living my best life. I'm dropping a rap song on Monday on Good Morning Football. I've dropped rap recaps before, but this one's next level. It's a '90s hip-hop video: I'm rapping in the rain next to a Lamborghini with a helicopter in the background. Now, when there's a marketing push, digitally or on TV, you're going to hear me!

Fantasy was a huge part of my life, even when I played in the NFL. I played it every single week. And I know what it's like to be out there in the fourth quarter, down by six, my quarterback gives me a wink at the line of scrimmage, it's cold, I'm freezing, my body hurts, but I gotta come down with a catch. I would relive those moments over and over again, highlights I will remember for the rest of my life, stuff that makes your soul shiver. At DraftKings, they found a way to mimic that and duplicate that feeling that the athletes get.

GD: Sounds like you are pulling a Will Smith and conquering yet another form of media.

Burleson: Can you feel it? That's exactly what's happening.