Okafor, Ward, Jones even Mendoza will be the 3rd back. If Burkhead has so much talent, that they want him on the field, he would more likely be a WR where they really need someone to step up and almost certainly as a retruner, but not as a 3rd team RB. This staff doesn't seem inclined to burn a redshirt for 3rd team players.
Like the previous staff, burning redshirts for special teams.