Randy Moss sauntered around the locker room scowling, a pack of microphones and cameras trailing him everywhere. He'd just done all of Green Bay dirty, scoring the backbreaking touchdown in the Vikes' 31-17 wild-card win, and punctuating it with a goalpost moon dance. Meanwhile, the receiver who drew two penalties and caught a third-and-six to set up Moss's TD quietly surveyed the surreal scene. This is how the world often looked to Nate Burleson in the first two years of his career.
But ever since Burleson heard that Moss had been traded-he caught the news on TV-he's been gearing up for the moments when the cameras are focused on him. And the truth is, the third-year receiver is as likely to raise a locker-room ruckus as Moss is to admit that his teammates couldn't stand him anymore. "That came into the organization's decision to trade Randy," says Vikes coach Mike Tice. "Plus, we certainly feel like Nate is a No. 1 receiver."
Burleson seems to be everything the NFL and Vikings brass wish Moss was: a guy whose only shortcoming is a lack of arrogance. That's no easy feat considering how Burleson played last season. When No. 84 missed three games with a right hamstring injury, the six-foot, 192-pound Burleson developed into Daunte Culpepper's main man. He caught 68 balls for 1,006 yards, becoming the first player since 1997 not named Moss or Carter to lead the Vikes in receiving yards. "I think the plays I made allowed them to think we'll be alright without Randy," Burleson says. "But I don't really feel like The Guy. I always wanted to stay under the radar. I like the idea of killing them softly."
Playing in the shadows isn't new for Burleson. Pro scouts got a handle on him only in 2002, when he put up Arena-ball numbers (138 catches as a senior) at Nevada. They'd seen film of his soft hands and eye-popping ability to set up and separate from defensive backs, and came to Reno looking for negatives. They found someone who mowed old folks' lawns in a church program, a young man so trusted, he babysat coaches' kids. Receivers coach D.J. McCarthy named his first son Nate.
Not that Burleson, 23, got a swelled head. He grew up in Seattle, one of four boys who played D1 sports. Burleson excelled at basketball, the only kid in town who could check prep rivals Luke Ridnour or Jamal Crawford. Even though he caught just 14 passes in a run-oriented offense as a high school senior, Burleson knew he'd make a better route-runner than jump-shooter. His father, Alvin, played safety at Washington and in the CFL, and Nate figured he'd play for U-Dub too. But when Rick Neuheisel told Burleson he'd have to make the team as a walk-on, Nevada beckoned.
In Reno, Burleson ranked 30th nationally in receptions per game as a junior. After the season, the team trainer asked him what his goals were. To get into the top 30, Burleson replied.
"You're saying there are 30 receivers better than you?" the trainer asked.
Nate sheepishly shook his head no.
"So why can't you be No. 1?"
Burleson took the words to heart. After the first few weeks of the next season, he was ahead of Charles Rogers and Roy Williams. Every week he'd check the stats and think, "Man, I'm still ahead of 'em." With each game his confidence grew. The attitude was something his dad tried to instill in him for years. "Go out like you're the best on the field," Alvin would say, "even if Randy Moss is out there."
Only now Moss won't be. And even Burleson knows it's easier to look great when the defense isn't keying on him. But this season he'll either be lining up opposite Travis Taylor, who had just 34 catches with the Ravens last season, or a rookie. And Vikings coaches don't even know yet if Burleson will play mostly in the slot or on the outside. "That'll be the fun part of our minicamps," says offensive coordinator Steve Loney. "We'll see whose strengths compensate for whose weaknesses."
Just as important is whether the low-key Burleson can become the positive influence Moss never was. "I've been crawling," Burleson says. "I think I'm ready to walk."
Minnesota's coaches are betting the rest of the Vikes will follow.