ESPN predicts how Titans WR Treylon Burks' rookie season will go
There's been plenty of discussion over the last couple of weeks about Tennessee Titans wide receiver Treylon Burks and his conditioning. Burks, the No. 18 overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, has had some issues finishing practice during minicamps. Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, however, doesn't seem concerned. And he shouldn't be — it's […]
There's been plenty of discussion over the last couple of weeks about Tennessee Titans wide receiver Treylon Burks and his conditioning.
Burks, the No. 18 overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, has had some issues finishing practice during minicamps.
Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, however, doesn't seem concerned. And he shouldn't be — it's only June. What really matters is how Burks performs once the season starts.
And ESPN's Mike Clay thinks Burks will have a solid rookie season.
Clay projected the top NFL rookie leaders in 2022 and he thinks Burks will have the second-most receiving yards of any rookie wide receiver.
The ESPN writer has Burks finishing the season with 893 receiving yards, just behind Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London with 967 yards.
It shouldn't be shocking to see four rookie receivers projected for over 800 yards. London (No. 8 overall) has the clearest path to massive usage with little competition for targets on the perimeter in Atlanta. Burks (No. 18) is in a similar spot in Tennessee after A.J. Brown was traded and with Robert Woodsrecovering from a torn ACL.
Burks is inevitably going to be compared to former Titans wide receiver AJ Brown, the player he's replacing in Nashville, throughout his rookie season.
If Burks finishes with 893 receiving yards in 2022, it would mean that he had a slightly less productive rookie season than Brown had in 2019 (1,051 receiving yards). But it would also mean that Burks had a better season in 2022 than Brown had in 2021 (when he caught 63 passes for 869 yards).
The recent rookie seasons from wide receivers like Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase (both players went over 1,400 receiving yards as rookies) have skewed the way we look at rookie wide receivers. Finishing with nearly 900 yards would be an extremely impressive season by Burks — especially since the Titans don't run a pass-first offense.
Burks is going to be under a microscope all season long. He can silence a lot of critics by delivering on ESPN's prediction.
Featured image via George Walker IV / Tennessean.com / USA TODAY NETWORK
