Prospect Bio

Treylon Burks was a three-sport athlete at Warren High School in Arkansas. He excelled in baseball and basketball on top of being a dominant force on the gridiron. As a junior, he topped 1,000 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns on 45 receptions. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, he added another 936 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns on 114 carries. The incredible performance and versatility earned him four-star recruiting status as the top-rated player in the state of Arkansas. He received offers from LSU, Ole Miss, Clemson, Florida State, Michigan, and Tennessee before committing to stay close to home and join the Razorbacks. Burks made an immediate impact, leading the team with 475 receiving yards on 29 receptions while starting nine of 11 games as a true freshman. His 16.4 yards per reception average was second among all SEC freshmen and he was second in receiving yards per game. Arkansas also used him as a returner where he earned second-team All-SEC honors for his special-teams contributions on top of all-conference freshman honors.

Burks built off his terrific start to his career as a sophomore. In nine games, he had 51 receptions for 820 yards and seven touchdowns. He ranked third in the SEC in yards per game (91.1) and was fifth in receiving yards. It was more of the same in 2021, with 1,104 yards and 11 touchdowns on 66 receptions. That included a 179-yard and two touchdown performance against Alabama. He added another 112 rushing yards and a score on 14 carries. 

After three seasons, Burks departs sixth in school history in career receptions (146), sixth in receiving yards (2,399), and tied for fifth in receiving touchdowns (18).

College Stats

Treylon Burks College Stats Courtesy of sports-reference

Positives

+45.9% (92nd-percentile) College Dominator (PlayerProfiler.com)

+31.3% Target Share 

+Size

+106.4 (86th-percentile) Speed Score (PlayerProfiler.com)

+Versatile weapon 

+38 career rush attempts 

+Yards after catch; 6th in the nation in YAC/Rec in 2021 (PFF)

+5.5 receptions per game in 2021

+3.52 yards per team pass attempt in 2021

+50% receiving touchdown share in 2021

+24 career kick/punt returns

Negatives

-117.1 (29th-percentile) Burst Score (PlayerProfiler.com)

-Route-running can be improved and  tree can be expanded

-77% slot rate in 2021 (PFF)

-Inconsistent in contested situations 

Highlight Reel

Comparable Player: AJ Brown

NFL Draft Projection: Top-20

Yards Per-Formance Grade: 84.1

Bottom Line:

Treylon Burks is an impressive athlete at 6-2, 225-pounds. He used that size to his advantage at Arkansas, eating up yards after the catch, as a returner, and with nearly 40 career rush attempts. While he played a ton of slot in college, the expectation is he will line up out at X the majority of the time at the NFL level. That will allow him to take full advantage of his size and athleticism and maximize his fantasy football potential. We have seen numerous wide receivers come in and make an immediate impact over the last few years. Burks is a strong candidate to add himself to that list. He’ll be a threat on all three levels. His offense will manufacture touches for him to take advantage of his run-after-catch ability while also making him a primary target in the deep and intermediate quadrants. It would be a shock to see Burks still on the board after the first 20 picks on draft day. He’s a prime candidate to be the first wide receiver drafted and is locked-in as the rookie WR1 for dynasty purposes.

Post Draft Analysis:

Burks was my WR1 going into the draft, and he remains atop my rankings at its conclusion. While the landing spot isn’t perfect—Ryan Tannehill at quarterback and in a run-first offense, Burks steps in as the clear alpha and top target in Tennessee’s offense. With the draft day trade of AJ Brown to Philadelphia, and only post-ACL surgery Robert Woods as the only other wide receiver of significance on the depth chart, Burks is in as good a situation as we could ask for outside of going to Green Bay or Kansas City. He will be a target hog who can win in all areas of the field and eat up yardage after the catch with the best of them. Draft him as a top-5 pick in the class.

Resources: DLF, PlayerProfiler, PFN, PFF, TDN

Yards Per-Formance Prospect Grade