2022 NFL Draft Player Profiles: Arkansas WR Treylon Burks

From now until the 2022 NFL Draft takes place, we hope to scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top 10 picks, all the way down to Day 3 selections and priority undrafted free agents. Today, I’ll be profiling Treylon Burks, a talented underclassmen who is one of the most athletic and explosive players relative to his size and frame.

#16 Treylon Burks, WR, Arkansas (JR) — 6020, 225 lbs.

Measurements

The Good

— Explosive athlete who is a threat to score on every player with speed and acceleration
— Has great size and large hands to snag football’s out of the air, especially in contested situations
— Aligned in the slot most of his snaps, but flashes the ability to play in the boundary as well as line up in the backfield and take handoffs, along with H-back alignment
— Hard to bring down in the open field, lower half of body built like a running back and will draw Deebo Samuel comparisons
— Creative with the ball in his hands, excellent body control and has smooth hips that allows him to adjust on back shoulder, off balance throws, playing above the rim

The Bad

— Manufactured touches will be needed early in his career, lacks nuance and creativity in his route running
— Relies on size and speed to get open, which leads to narrow windows when throwing the ball to him near sideline and over middle of the field
— For a player of his size, want to see him be more physical at the line of scrimmage and not allow DB’s to affect his depth of routes
— Release package needs to be better and he must stack defenders on vertical routes more consistently
— Great blocking effort, but again, physicality is not consistent from game to game, especially for an athlete of his size.

Bio

— Finished career with 147 catches, 2,418 yards and 18 TD’s receiving, added 222 yards rushing and one rushing touchdown
— Started 30 of 32 games played at Arkansas, missing this year’s Outback Bowl vs. PSU after opting out
— 2021 First Team All-SEC, 2019 & 2020 Second Team All-SEC
— Four star prospect who starred at Warren High School in Warren, Arkansas, lettered in football, basketball and baseball
— Chose Arkansas over LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Florida State, Michigan and others
— Turns 22 in March and one of the youngest receiving prospects in this draft class

Tape Breakdown

When you’re looking for a receiver who can create explosive plays despite how the ball is thrown or how off target a pass may be, Treylon Burks is the top player who bails out his quarterback and turns an average play into something explosive. Burks is a physical specimen who moves incredibly well for his size and turns into a running back when the ball is in his hands on the perimeter. His ability to stop on a dime, adjust to an underthrown ball and still outrun defenders down the field is shown on full display below against Alabama.

His body control in the air and ability to outmuscle and win the 50/50 passes is off the charts. At 6’3” and 225 pounds, Burks plays above the rim quite often and has shown the ability to get vertical, off the ground and pluck the football out of the air. While his hand size has not been released to the public., it’s clear he has large mitts for hands and high points the football, essentially boxing out defenders with his size. He knows how to protect his body as well and not expose it to big shots as safeties are bearing down on him on his vertical plane.

Again, the ability to sky high for those 50/50 passes shows up quite a bit in his film. The body control is absurd and just shows how special of a player he can be for an NFL offense. Although you would like to see him do a better job of stacking his man downfield, and uses better releases off the line of scrimmage, the tools he possesses can trump even the best coverage.

This is where you all have your own signature style of writing, and where we kill it having so many different voices that can come through in draft coverage.

Alignment versatility is a big plus for what Burks brings to an NFL offense. Lining up at h-back, F-tight end, slot, running back and outside receiver, the main objective for whoever selects him should be finding unique ways to get him the football. Arkansas lines him up in the backfield and has him run a corner route in the play below, leading to a big gain and a first down. This is a small snippet of how he was used, as Burks took jet sweeps for touchdowns, as well as swing screens. He’s a threat to score from any position on the field.

However, one of my bigger concerns about his game is the lack of creativity and nuance in his route running, especially at the top of routes. Too many times on film, he rounded off his routes on in and out breaking routes, allowing for defensive backs to recover and being able to break up passes. Specifically in the rep below against Alabama, Burks runs a crossing route and doesn’t stem nor give a head fake to keep the defender guessing and failing to create that second of separation he needed to make the pass an easier one to complete. If he can begin to incorporate hitting defensive backs blind spots more frequently and open up their hips more at the top of his routes, he can quickly ascend to being one of the better receivers at the NFL level. Until then, he’s a dynamic weapon who will create magic in the short passing game and excelling in the vertical passing game.

Conclusion

Treylon Burks is a first round talent with a myriad of ability to be explosive with the ball in his hands, has elite suddenness and can play in the slot and as a boundary/Z or X receiver in an NFL offense. The raw talent, ability to make defenders miss and turn a 10 yard gain into a 70+ yard touchdown makes him a first round talent off that ability alone. What he has as a receiver and athlete are things you can’t teach, hitting all the thresholds in the short area explosiveness, size and body control on contested catches.

As he projects to the NFL level, he will need to land on an offense that utilizes him all over the field and don’t pigeon hole him to one position. His impact can be felt in multiple areas, which is ultimately why he may not be an ideal fit for the Steelers, who will likely be in the market for a quarterback and a player within the trenches. While he would certainly give the Steelers another playmaker on the offense and pair beautifully with Chase Claypool and Diontae Johnson with his inside out versatility, the Steelers can’t afford to spend first round capital on a ‘luxury’ pick so to speak. Burks projects as an immediate starter and return specialist who will absolutely need designed schemes and play calls to get the ball in his hands quickly as he continues to navigate nuance in his route running and enhancing his creativity on an island with defensive backs and safeties.

Projection: Mid-Late Day 1

Depot Draft Grade: 8.9 – Year One Quality Starter (1st Round)

Games Watched: 2021: vs. Ole Miss, Georgia, Alabama, and Texas