Tennessee Titans: The Biggest Gap Between Treylon Burks and A.J. Brown
NASHVILLE, Tenn. ⏤ Treylon Burks is certainly similar to A.J. Brown, the former Tennessee Titans receiver he's effectively replacing, in many ways. Both players are big, strong, bully wide receivers who excel after the catch because of their athleticism and physicality. And, like Brown, Burks played most of his college snaps in the slot. There […]
NASHVILLE, Tenn. ⏤ Treylon Burks is certainly similar to A.J. Brown, the former Tennessee Titans receiver he's effectively replacing, in many ways.
Both players are big, strong, bully wide receivers who excel after the catch because of their athleticism and physicality. And, like Brown, Burks played most of his college snaps in the slot.
There is one major difference, though, between Burks and Brown: their connection with Titans QB Ryan Tannehill.
Brown and Tannehill were completely locked in and on the same page, a relationship they developed during their three years of practicing and playing together.
"I have so many reps with A.J. over the course of the last couple years," Tannehill said in December. "There is a ton of confidence there. Would love to get him back. Hopefully, it is this week, we will see. The banked reps there are deep so we can pull from those."
Burks, on the other hand, has no experience playing with Tannehill. When the two begin practicing together, they will start from scratch in developing their on-field connection.
That is, of course, part of being a rookie. Burks can't be blamed for not being in sync with a quarterback who's never thrown to him.
But for Burks to come close to capably replacing Brown, he'll need to develop at least a fraction of the chemistry with Tannehill that Brown had.
Doing that will take a lot of work, which Burks understands.
"It takes a lot. Just knowing the quarterback, actually reaching out to him, getting to know him as a person. Figuring out what he sees and also getting on the same page as him and just establishing that relationship with him will make a lot of things better."
That process will begin when the Titans open rookie minicamp next weekend.
"We'll get Treylon in here in a few weeks and then we'll get those guys working," head coach Mike Vrabel said. "We're excited to start Phase Two and build that process of trust and understanding, and work through some of the new stuff that we're going to be doing."
The process can't end in rookie minicamp, though. It'll have to continue through Training Camp, the preseason and into the regular season.
Burks staying healthy and consistently available in practice will be the key to him getting on the same page with Tannehill. His youth should help on that front.
- Brown image: Christopher Hanewinckel/USA Today
- Burks image: Nelson Chenault/USA Today
