The Tennessee Titans drafted wide receiver Treylon Burks with the No. 18 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft as a replacement for A.J. Brown after he was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles.
However, things have gotten off to a rocky start for Burks, as he had issues staying on the practice field during rookie minicamp due to asthma, and he was unavailable during mandatory minicamp for an unspecified reason.
Despite his issues, CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso still believes Burks will finish as the second-most productive rookie receiver in 2022.
The Titans have an almost unfathomable amount of receiving production to replace from a season ago. They have the highest available target percentage (67.1%), overall available targets (351). and air yards (2,914), per 4for4.com. Of course, Robert Woods will eat into some of that availability; however, he’s now 30 years old and returning from a November ACL tear — not a major concern to Burks’ production value.
And while Burks isn’t quite as dynamic off the line as A.J. Brown, their games are strikingly similar. Burks won for years in the SEC with his strong lower half that allows him to laugh off contact to power through tackling attempts. He’s sneaky-good in traffic down the field too. While Derrick Henry will start the season as the focal point of the Titans offense, for as much of a unicorn as he is, the two-time rushing-yard champ is now 28 with nearly 1,600 career carries (including the playoffs) on his resume, and he’s returning from a serious injury last season.
As Trapasso points out, the Titans have a ton of targets to replace with Brown and Jones gone, so there will be ample opportunity for Burks to show out in 2022.
However, if he continues to miss practice reps like he has thus far, Burks is unlikely to have a significant role out of the gate, which, of course, will hurt his production