By LARRY VAUGHT
What was it like to have your son selected with the 153rd pick in the fifth round of the NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers?
“It was both wonderful and gut wrenching at the same time,” said Jeff Burton, father of UK offensive lineman Jager Burton. “We were waiting (during the draft) and had been told so many things by so many people. That team would come up (in the draft) and wouldn’t take him and then it was what is the next option for us.
“Out of nowhere the Packer picked him and we were all so happy. The Packers told him they did not think there was a chance he would be there (for them to pick in the fifth round). Now it is up to him. He’s got to go do what he does. I know he will put in the time and give the effort and do what it takes. It’s all in God’s hands now.”
The Burtons knew there was a “slight chance” he might be drafted in the third round and had a gathering with a few friends, family members and Burton’s agent. On Saturday for rounds 4-7 the Burtons had a larger gathering at their pole barn (an agriculture structure with no basement, a high ceiling and wide-open spaces) across the street from their home on Herrington Lake.
“When he got the call and said Green Bay was drafting him, everybody erupted,” Jeff Burton said. “He is their kind of guy. The fans were excited he had his draft party in a pole barn with white folding tables.”
The former Frederick Douglass standout started 32 games at guard and 15 at center for Kentucky, including 12 games at center his senior season that got Green Bay interested in him. According to Pro Football Focus, the 6-4, 315-pound Burton gave up just three quarterback sacks on more than 1,000 pass-blocking snaps over the last three years. He also was called for only two penalties in 2025.
Burton ran the 40-yard dash in 4.94 seconds at the NFL Combine — and was disappointed.
“He was mad about it because his training runs had been below 4.9. He wanted to run a 4.8,” Jeff Burton said. “He had a good day, though, at the combine. He is a very athletic young man and always has been. He relied on that and then added strength and got to understanding leverage and how to use it.”
The senior offensive lineman spent about three months in Arizona training after UK’s season ended. He performed so well at the Shrine Bowl that he turned down an invitation to the Senior Bowl because his agent told him he did more than enough at the Shrine Bowl.
Burton’s versatility also worked in his favor even though the Packers are looking for him to compete at center.
“The moving around had nothing to do with Jager but was more playing him where he was needed. He probably played a little early due to injuries but he got experience and learned to face adversity and come back from it,” Jeff Burton said.
Kentucky’s offensive line was criticized heavily at times in 2024 and 2025 and blamed for UK’s offensive issues by many. However, Eli Cox was part of the 2024 line and was on the Houston Texans’ practice squad in 2025 and has signed a new contract. Burton and Jalen Farmer were also both starters in 2024 and 2025 and Farmer was a fourth-round draft selection with the 113th pick by Indianapolis.
“Being a Kentucky kid it is always harder to deal with the expectations and what people think things should be. People are harder on Kentucky kids than people they don’t know as much about,” Jeff Burton said. “Sometimes that got hard. Jager is an emotional kid but he doesn’t show it and that is a strength of his.
“A lot of people talk about the offensive line, including the media. But they do not always have a clue about what the lineman should be doing on any particular play. If you do not know the schemes or plays, it’s hard to evaluate who is doing something right or wrong.”
Jeff Burton felt offensive line coaches Eric Wolford (2021-2024-2025) and Zach Yenser (2022-2023) both helped develop his son.
“Coach Wolf was really good for Jager. He was hard on him. He had him as a freshman and then again at the end. Yenser was in the middle and is a different type of coach. He added some things for Jager. They were in touch until Zach got the (offensive line coach) job with the Miami Dolphins and then he was not allowed to reach out to him,” Jeff Burton said.
Jager Burton has been at Green Bay’s rookie mini camp and will return soon for organized team activities (OTA) along with voluntary workouts for about five weeks before mandatory workouts start.
“Now he just has to make the team,” Burton’s father said.
