Burks Comfortable With the 'Grind'
NASHVILLE – On his very first drill of rookie camp last May, Treylon Burks faltered and immediately was sidelined due to a combination of asthma and poor conditioning.
It was an inauspicious start for the Tennessee Titans rookie wide receiver, the 18th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Almost four months later, however, Burks showed a different side in the Titans’ final preseason game. Hurt early in the contest against Arizona, Burks shook off his wrist injury, asked to return to the game, and caught a touchdown pass from Malik Willis.
The contrasting scenarios appear to offer an important illustration of Burks’ progress as he and his teammates ready for Sunday’s season opener against the New York Giants.
After a shaky start that saw Burks miss most of rookie camp and all of minicamp, the former University of Arkansas standout has helped better the trust that quarterback Ryan Tannehill and the team’s coaching staff have in him. Burks has done so – in part – simply by being more available, fighting through various injuries as opposed to letting them sideline him.
“That’s been huge for me – it’s given me a lot of confidence in him,” Tannehill said. “Seeing him getting nicked in practice and then coming back and battling through that. You can tell he’s hurting, but he’s out there. He’s pushing through.
“We all gain respect for each other when we know things aren’t perfect – and they’re not going to be perfect. But if you can find a way to battle through and try to rally for your guys around you, it makes an impact.”
Added Burks: “I would just say it’s always been a grind with me, just going through everything, making sure I’m mentally tough, making sure I can get through anything as long as I put my mind to it. I’m also just doing it to gain the trust and accountability of all my teammates, just going out there and playing.”
There are naturally high expectations for Burks, as he was selected in the first round, mere moments after the Titans dealt Pro Bowl wide receiver A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles.
It remains to be seen, however, how long it will take for Burks to make a significant impact during his rookie season.
Brown, for example, caught three passes for 100 yards in his first NFL game in 2019, but it took him until the latter portion of the season to pile up big yardage on a consistent basis. Four of Brown’s five 100-yard games as a rookie came in the season’s last six weeks, and he added five touchdowns during that stretch.
Brown also had a full offseason’s work going into his rookie year, something Burks won’t be able to rely upon.
“Some of that lost time is tough – you don’t get it back,” Tannehill said. “But (Burks) has done a good job of trying to take advantage of opportunities he’s had when he’s been out there. He’s made some plays for me throughout training camp, down the field, made some physical, tough catches.
“He’s shown to win on press, shown to win on off coverages, has some range, tracks the ball really well. So I have a lot of confidence, even though we may not have the number of reps that we wished if he would have been healthy the whole offseason. He’s taken advantage of plays when he’s been there, so I have a ton of confidence going his way.”
Another thing to keep in mind is his learning curve as a pro is likely to be steeper than Brown’s was.
At Arkansas, the 6-foot-2, 225-pound Burks spent most of his time in the slot while playing in a run-pass option offense. Burks will play on the outside far more frequently with the Titans, in a far more traditional NFL offense.
“It’s a grind,” Burks said of the learning process. “But as long as you put your mind to it, you can do anything, just getting better and better each day.”
Burks has been working with a couple of quality veteran role models in the wide-receiver room.
One is third-year veteran Nick Wesbrook-Ikhine, whose ability to learn all three wide-receiver positions helped him go from undrafted free agent to one of the team’s top targets. The other is Robert Woods, who’s piled up 570 catches for 7,077 yards and 35 touchdowns in nine NFL seasons.
“I’d say (Burks has shown progress) just getting ready – just like every rookie – how it is to be a pro, to be a professional, to be available,” Woods said. “I think now he’s just come to the realization that the season is here, he’s playing well, and I’m really excited to see what he does this Sunday.”
Burks’ abilities to make explosive plays, win contested catches and batter through smaller defensive backs are all likely to be on display at some point this season.
As for now, Burks feels like the most important lesson he’s learned involves his mind.
“I would just say being mentally tough,” Burks said. “And also knowing who Christ is and keeping him always with me and my faith, and then just playing ball.”
