I really think people on here overrate Burns. Is he good, sure I guess. Elite? I'd say decidedly no. Could he become Elite? Sure. I'm sorry, he is not elite and is nowhere near the value for 2 1st round picks AND a massive 25m+ contract. Burns had slightly more production then Young, at least in sacks (1 more). Young had more tackles and forced fumbles, so I'd say even.
Is Young Elite? Burns is overrated IMO and I'd rather just outright sign FA Hunter who is far closer to the Elite status (double the sacks of Burns) and won't cost us draft capital.
You keep saying that Burns had similar or now slightly more production than Young but completely ignore the circumstances. Sure, sacks and QB hits were similar (Although Burns doubled Young TFLs)
But Young was playing with Aaron Donald.
He wasn't the focus of opposing offenses. Donald was with the Rams and Burns was in Carolina.
Young also had far more opportunities due to the Rams offense vs. the Panthers offense. The Rams defense faced 123 more passing attempts than the Panthers defense.
Hunter is a great pass rusher. But to be fair the Vikings defense faced closer to what the Rams faced in passing attempts and the Vikings may have blitzed more than any team in the league.
I think what people overrated are 1st round selections. We hear 1st round selection and say Oh No and disregard how high or low that selection may be in that round. The value is high near the top of the round. But typically, the players selected toward the bottom of the round are rated similarly than the players selected in the second round. Not only that, but a 2025 1st rounder traded today is typically viewed as valuable as a 2024 mid 2nd rounder.
Top 10 selections? I'd pass. But #19 or lower?