RADIO
Treylon Burks 2022 NFL Player Outlook: The Replacement
3 years agoWhen Corey Davis arrived in Tennessee, the Titans thought they had finally made an elite addition at the Wide Receiver position. After floundering for a few years, the Titans took another chance on A.J. Brown out of Ole Miss in the second round of the NFL draft. While this time it worked out, it may have worked out too well. Not only did Brown flourish, but he also did so to the extent of pricing himself out of a return to the Tennessee Titans. Despite the way the NFL is trending, a team that is still a run-first team behind running back Derrick Henry. This left them unwilling to break the money threshold needed to secure Brown. Instead of doing this, they decided to go the opposite way of the Los Angeles Rams. Instead of trading picks away for a star player, they traded a star player away for a draft pick. In this case, they traded Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles for a first-round draft pick. A selection that turned into the replacement for Brown in Arkansas wide receiver Treylon Burks. The leading receiver in the SEC in 2021 for Arkansas, Burks is a big receiver at 6'3 and more than 220 pounds. Despite this size, he also led the SEC in 20-plus yard receptions for an Arkansas team that finished the gauntlet of the SEC West with an 8-4 record and finished the season by overcoming Penn State 24-10 to win the Outback Bowl. We have seen several first-year receivers make their marks in recent seasons. Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson have given all fantasy managers a reason to draft rookies high. But this may not be the player or the team to trust too highly. Although Burks is set to be the No. 1 receiver for a good, not great, Tennessee Titans team, Derrick Henry is back. This means between him and the ability of Ryan Tannehill to extend plays with his legs; the run game will once again be a significant focus of the Mike Vrabel offense in Nashville. As an Arkansas fan, I love Treylon Burks. But as a fantasy manager, I cannot validate taking him too high in fantasy drafts. Jefferson and Chase might have finished near the tops of fantasy ranks as rookies. Burks will find this feat far more difficult as he deals with Derrick Henry and now asthma. Take him, yes. But do not go out of your mind and draft him in the top five or six rounds. Please wait until the eighth round or later and make sure he is grabbed as a stash play more than a player you are hoping to use in Week 1. Much like Cam Akers' rookie season. The end of the season will be the actual payoff. So be patient.
