LIVE BLOG: The latest from the NFL Draft
DRAFT GRADES: Sheil Kapadia’s report cards
BIG BOARD: Best available players remaining
How’s that for causing a stir on draft day? The Titans took Arkansas receiver Treylon Burks in the first round Thursday, and if that’s the only information you got, you would have thought that made perfect sense. A nice gift for the Titans that he fell to 26 … a nice understudy for A.J. Brown, giving the Titans a third outside weapon to play in 2022 with Brown and free-agent signee Robert Woods.
Advertisement
Instead, Burks’ reaction to the way things unfolded — “Oh my God, this is crazy,” he told reporters of what he said at the time — is a fitting reaction for the NFL at large. The Titans sent Brown to the Eagles for picks No. 18 and No. 101, and they took Burks at 18. Holy hog hunting, did that just happen? Burks is, quite simply, Brown’s intended replacement in the Titans’ offense. And that is a lot to live up to for the 6-foot-2, 225-pound Burks, who looks and plays a lot like Brown and had 66 catches for 1,104 yards and 11 touchdowns last season for the Razorbacks.
Big board ranking: Burks ranked No. 13 on Dane Brugler’s big board, Brugler writing that Burks still needs work as a route runner but “compares to a linebacker-sized Deebo Samuel” and is especially dangerous after the catch. Which is Brown’s strength, of course. Burks led the SEC with 22 plays of 20-plus yards in 2021. Basically, there was no one comparable to him left on the board, and the Titans moved up specifically to get him.
How he fits: He needs to start as a rookie. And given the Titans depth chart, it would be stunning if he didn’t. But is he ready to be a starting-caliber receiver right away, in this scheme, in this league? Brown had the benefit of a slow ascent as a rookie. There’s a ton on Burks, immediately, and it’s completely unrealistic to think he’ll give the Titans what Brown would have given them as a fourth-year pro in 2022.
Second guess? The second guess is making this trade at all. The pick itself made sense — in fact, became necessary — once the trade was made. And they were done, of course, in tandem. But the Titans may regret this one for a long time.
Rookie impact: The Titans may add to the receiver room before the draft is over. But right now it’s Woods coming off an ACL injury, Burks, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and a lot of guys who may come or go. That means Burks can’t be afforded much patience.
Advertisement
Depth-chart impact: He’s a starter on Day 1, or something really wrong went on in camp.
Fast evaluation: This is, quite simply, a shocker. Burks is a promising, exciting player. And as he said shortly after he was drafted, he actually dreamed of playing with Brown. Being compared to him all the time, and being asked to live up to what Brown is as a player, does not sound dreamy.
(Photo: Wesley Hitt / Getty Images)
