Hog-Hunting, Touchdown-Scoring Burks Visiting Packers

The Green Bay Packers will host Treylon Burks, one of the best receivers in the 2022 NFL Draft, for a predraft visit on Friday.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Treylon Burks is as violent as he is caring.

As fast as he is, well, not fast.

First, the speed.

After a fabulous final season at Arkansas, Burks was considered one of the top receiver prospects in the 2022 NFL Draft. Then came the Scouting Combine. He posted a mediocre 40-yard time of 4.55 seconds. A poor 20-yard shuttle of 4.4 seconds. A below-average 33-inch vertical jump. His 5.83 Relative Athletic Score, a 0-to-10 measurement of a player’s height/weight/athleticism, spoke to a ho-hum athletic profile not really matching a first-round pick.

“All I can say is go watch film and see if I've been caught with that 40 time,” Burks said at pro day.

Burks’ history backs up that bold statement, which is why his draft stock wasn’t really impacted by the workout in Indianapolis. He had season averages topping 16.0 yards in each of his three seasons. In 2021, according to Pro Football Focus, he ranked fourth among receivers with 9.3 yards after the catch per catch and 25th with 12 catches on passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield.

“They like my film. They like the way that I communicate,” Burks said at pro day, when he improved his vertical jump to 35.5 inches. “I’m very respectful and I’m a man about my business. I go about my business the right way. That's me. I'm not a flashy player. I go to work every day, get done with work, go home to my fiancée and my dogs and just keep doing that process.”

His violence isn’t about the run-after-catch ability packed in his 225-pound frame, though that certainly applies. Rather, it’s about one of his hobbies.

Wild boar hunting. It’s something he’s done since he was 9.

It’s not for the faint of heart. A feral hog can tip the scales at 200 pounds, a combination of muscle and sharp tusks. They can run up to 35 mph.

“You have to go out there with dogs and the dogs find them and we come up behind them and tackle them and take them out,” he said at the Scouting Combine.

It’s muscle against muscle. Knife against tusks.

“We do not use guns,” he told ESPN.com recently. “Using a gun takes the fun out of it. Having a knife, it's more of a thrill that you're getting up on a wild boar that could kill you. Honestly, it's just a thrill being out there with your friends and family and having a good time.”

Dangerous? Sure. But if Burks can tackle a hog and put it on the dinner table, then he can break a tackle attempt by Harrison Smith and take it to the house.

Not surprisingly, it’s been a hot topic of conversation during meetings with teams. Surely, when he meets with the Green Bay Packers on Friday, general manager Brian Gutekunst or one of the team’s scouts or coaches will bring it up.

“Literally everyone was there,” he said of a meeting with the Giants. “They were thrilled that someone does that. They'd never heard of it. It was amazing to them.”

Burks, who went deer hunting on 30 minutes sleep after beating LSU, is a product of his great-grandparents. His great-grandfather was a longtime employee of the Warren (Ark.) School District. He taught Burks to have a selfless attitude.

“It’s an honor to have my name on the back of a helmet,” Burks wrote as part of a photo montage marking his first practice at Arkansas. “My family always pushed me and my (great)- grandpa kept telling me when I was younger that I was going to be something in life. My (great)-grandma took that role once my grandpa died and was always pushing me to be better. For me to have the name ‘Burks’ on my back is really an honor. I want to rep my grandpa’s name and his legacy.”

When his great-grandfather died when Burks was in high school, his great-grandmother stepped into the void. Freda Burks is the motivating force as he moves into the next phase of life.

“It’s really big because just thinking back to days where she would always hold me and sacrifice time for me when she didn’t have to,” Burks said at pro day. “She could have gave me to my mom. It just means a lot, just because that’s a woman who sat there every day, changed my Pampers, made me milk, just did everything for me and she wasn’t even my mom. Just … words can’t explain.”

VIDEO: TREYLON BURKS TALKS HUNTING

All-Packers Mock Draft 6.0

Here is our latest seven-round all-Packers mock draft. This rendition was done via NFLMockDraftDatabase.com.

First Round – No. 22: Devonte Wyatt, DT, Georgia

With the first-round pick obtained in the Davante Adams trade, the Packers grab Devonte Wyatt. When pointed out that his group was short on numbers, defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery on Tuesday said he’d like someone with twitch. Well, at 304 pounds, Wyatt ran his 40 in 4.77 seconds. While a bit lost in the draft shadow of his mountainous teammate, Jordan Davis, Wyatt is the better player and will be a three-down sidekick with Kenny Clark. In this year’s defensive tackle class, he ranked second in pass-rush win rate, according to Pro Football Focus.

First Round – No. 28: George Pickens, WR, Georgia

In this simulation, receiver was hit hard: Jameson Williams went at No. 15, Chris Olave at No. 16, Drake London at No. 17 and Treylon Burks at No. 21. So, I rolled the dice on Pickens at this spot. And, with merely 90 career catches, it is a roll of the dice. He looked like the next big thing as a freshman in 2019, wasn’t as productive in 2020 and missed most of 2021 with a torn ACL. He’s tall and fast and made big plays in a big-time conference. “I watch Davante Adams a lot,” Pickens said. “I'm bigger than Davante Adams. That's kind of the lane I kind of want to go into because with the size I am, a guy who can move is almost unguardable.”

Second Round – No. 59: Abraham Lucas, OT, Washington State

Lucas started 42 games at right tackle the last four seasons. He was a Freshman All-American in 2018, second-team all-conference in 2019 and 2020, and first-team all-conference in 2021. He didn’t give up any sacks as a senior, according to Pro Football Focus, and he aced the predraft testing with the type of athleticism the Packers covet for their scheme. As was the case with Pickens, he had a predraft visit with Green Bay.

Second Round – No. 53: Cameron Thomas, OLB, San Diego State

I thought about inside linebacker Quay Walker at this spot, which would have made it three consecutive Georgia players, but the edge group had been hit hard and I was fearful of running out of my top groups of guys. Thomas was a wrecking ball, earning second-team All-American honors in 2021 with his 11.5 sacks and 20.5 tackles for losses. At 6-foot-4 and 267 pounds, he’s got the size the Packers have desired at this position. He lined up here, there and everywhere for the Aztecs, much like Za’Darius Smith did for Green Bay.

Third Round – No. 92: Kerby Joseph, S, Illinois

If you’re looking ahead, safety is Green Bay’s biggest need. As it stands, Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage will be free agents next offseason. The team’s No. 3 safety last year, Henry Black, wasn’t even tendered as an exclusive-rights free agents, so there are no obvious young guns waiting in the wings. A first-time starter in 2021, Joseph intercepted five passes. He’s got sideline-to-sideline range. If the Packers want to try Savage in the slot, they need a safety capable of stepping into the lineup. Plus, he played a lot on special teams.

Fourth Round – No. 132: Charlie Kolar, TE, Iowa State

Kolar won’t wow anyone athletically. An Austin Hooper-type, he’s simply a big guy (6-foot-6 1/2) who knows how to get open and catches what’s thrown his way. He was a four-time all-Big 12 selection with 51 receptions and seven touchdowns in 2019, 44 receptions and seven touchdowns in 2020 and 62 receptions and six touchdowns in 2021. He had just one drop as a senior, according to Sports Info Solutions. He won the Campbell Trophy (aka the Academic Heisman) in 2021. He’s just not a big-play threat or a great blocker.

Fourth Round – No. 140: DeAngelo Malone, OLB, Western Kentucky

New outside linebackers coach Jason Rebrovich sounds like he wouldn’t mind a counter-puncher among his pass rushers. Preston Smith and Rashan Gary are big, physical guys. Malone is smaller but explosive. At 6-foot-3 and 243 pounds, he ran his 40 in 4.54. He dominated with 32.5 sacks, 58.5 tackles for losses and nine forced fumbles the past four seasons. He could start his career as a Designated Pass Rusher.

Fifth Round – No. 171: Erik Ezukanma, WR, Texas Tech

I really needed to get another receiver, so this was a good score after just missing on Nevada receiver/returner Romeo Doubs in the fourth. Ezukanma had at least 42 receptions and four touchdowns each of the last three seasons. He’s good in contested-catch situations, can block and is a strong yards-after-catch producer. At 6-foot-2 and with 4.54 speed, he had three drops in 2021.

Seventh Round – No. 228: Aaron Hansford, LB, Texas A&M

Hansford caught three passes as a redshirt freshman receiver in 2017 before making the move to defense in 2019. In 2021, he led the team with 89 tackles and was third with 8.5 tackles for losses. At 6-foot-2 and 239 pounds, he’s got decent speed (4.64 in the 40) and strength (24 reps on the bench). If his vision improves with experience, he could become a quality starter.

Seventh Round – No. 249: Ryan Van Demark, OT, Connecticut

I wanted an interior blocker but getting Van Demark was too good to pass up. Van Demark was one of the Combine snubs. He backed it up at pro day. At 6-foot-6 1/2 and 307 pounds and with 35 3/4-inch arms, he ran a high-quality 4.54 in the shuttle. He started at right tackle as a freshman and at left tackle his final three seasons.

Seventh Round – No. 258: Dallis Flowers, CB, Pittsburg State

In his one season for the Division II Gorillas, Flowers averaged 33.7 yards per kickoff return with two touchdowns while also intercepting four passes. It was Flowers’ fourth school; he averaged 38.1 yards per kickoff return and 11.1 yards per punt return in 2019 with Grand View, where he was a two-time NAIA All-American. At 6-foot-1, he ran his 40 in 4.40 seconds.