2022 Chiefs Draft Prospect: Treylon Burks

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NAME: Treylon Burks

POSITION: Wide Receiver

SCHOOL: Arkansas

HEIGHT: 6’2”

WEIGHT: 225 pounds

CAREER BACKGROUND

A native of Warren, Arkansas, Treylon Burks attended Warren High School. Outside of football, he lettered in basketball and baseball at Warren. Burks was a four-time letterwinner on the gridiron. During his junior season of high school football, he put together a spectacular offensive campaign. He caught 45 passes for 1,090 receiving yards and 12 receiving touchdowns, while also rushing for 936 rushing yards and 27 rushing touchdowns on 114 carries. Unfortunately for Burks, a major knee injury cost him most of his senior season of high school football. He still managed eight catches, 244 receiving yards and four touchdowns before getting hurt.

247Sports rated Burks as a four-star recruit. They also ranked him as the best prospect to come out of the state of Arkansas in his class. He received many offers to play college football. This included receiving offers from multiple powerhouses, like Auburn, Florida State, LSU, Michigan, Ole Miss and South Carolina. Yet, Burks opted to stay close to home and play for the Razorbacks at Arkansas.

Three-Year Leader

As a true freshman in 2019, Burks appeared in 11 games and made nine starts. He was used as both a receiver and as a rusher in all three seasons, and that began in 2019. He was also a top returner for the Razorbacks that season, registering 10.8 yards per punt return and 22.6 yards per kick return. As a receiver, Burks finished with 29 receptions and 475 receiving yards (team-lead). His 16.4 yards per reception average was the second most among SEC freshmen. For his efforts, Burks earned SEC All-Freshman Team honors and second-team All-SEC honors.

Despite a shortened season in 2020, Burks was still a starter in all nine games in which he played in. He led Arkansas with 51 catches, 820 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns. Additionally, he was one of just two FBS receivers (Kadarius Toney) to log 800+ receiving yards and 70+ rushing yards on the season. Burks earned second-team All-SEC honors for the second consecutive season.

He finished his college career with new single season career highs in 2021. This included producing 66 catches, 1,104 receiving yards and 11 receiving touchdowns. He became just the fourth pass catcher in Arkansas history, and the first since 2012, to post a 1,000-yard receiving season. To boot, Burks set a new school record with six 100 yard receiving games in one season. The wide receiver went on to earn first-team All-SEC honors.

SCOUTING REPORT

Instead of listing positives and negatives for traits, this year we will be listing the best trait of each prospect and work our way down to the biggest area of improvement/absent trait(s), from top to bottom.

Ball Skills

Making contested catches and grabs in traffic are areas where Burks consistently overpowers opponents. The way in which he tracks and adjusts to the football, is one of the more refined parts of his game. Elsewhere, Burks makes sure to square his frame to the football, if possible, while still setting himself up for possible run after catch opportunities. He makes the more difficult catches look rather simple. Moreover, his body control at the catch point and reach allow him to make catches that are seemingly more soft than they actually are. Burks has also steadily improved when it comes to his timing within his hand technique, jumps and adjustments.

Run After Catch Ability

Burks sees the field so well after the catch. When he looks to be corralled or bottled up in close quarters, the pass catcher works to quickly slice through the smallest of creases. In those moments, Burks becomes more compact and utilizes his dense and powerful lower half to fight off tackle attempts. He also controls his speed effectively after the catch. For example, Burks is willing to remain patient before attacking any creases or angles. Or, he can rely on his mix of short area burst and elusiveness to get around defenders.

Versatility

Obviously, Burks has lined up all over the offensive formation. As a wide receiver, he can win from the slot or from the outside. He can even win from tighter alignments close to the tight end or offensive tackle. Occasionally, Burks has lined up in the backfield and has taken handoffs or run short routes into the flats. His usage in motion and on reverses or touch passes behind the line of scrimmage forced defenses to watch for plenty of different items within the Arkansas offense. If any reads were missed, it allowed for big play opportunities for Burks and his teammates. As a result, he has a chance to win at all three levels with his ability to alter tendencies and with being able to handle a multitude of roles.

Hands

The adjustments to his hand technique are truly where Burks shines in this area. He is extremely soft with his hands at the catch point. More importantly, the game just seems to slow down for him when the ball comes his way. Burks will not have any difficulty in needing to outmuscle opponents at the catch point, as he plays with such a firm grasp and heavy hands. There are still slight improvements that Burks could make in this area. He does well to pluck the ball away from his frame when high pointing it on vertical routes. However, there are times where he lets the ball travel too far into his chest. Burks is also late to extend or fire his hands forward when the ball is coming to him on a straight line.

Football IQ

There are a few areas where Burks’ knowledge stands out above the other wide receivers in this class. For instance, he understands angles and spacing so quickly when he has the ball in space. Recognizing his landmarks and blocks in those moments helps to aid his explosive play ability. On the flip side, Burks is rather controlled and calm during critical situations. That allows him to be a go to receiver in got to have it moments. Finally, Burks has shown a greater instinct to read different coverages.

Speed

Everyone will likely remember the 40-yard dash disappointment that some felt he had at the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine. Yet, his play speed is much different than running in a timed test on a straight line. Burks may not have elite long speed. Nevertheless, he proved that he could win some footraces in the open field. His short area quickness displays the elusiveness and slipperiness of Burks. Furthermore, his lateral quickness and change of direction skills truly show how much quicker he can be than some of the best defenders.

Route Running

His route breaks are often very subtle. That can be both a good thing and a bad thing for Burks. On one hand, his comfort is much higher in the intermediate to deep passing game. He is able to softly ride defenders up the field, before then slicing quickly toward either their inside or outside shoulder. Burks appears to be more under control and smooth in those moments. Whereas with routes in the short and quick passing game, he can become a bit more messy. Burks looks to reach his landmark without any variations to his routes or attack. Thus, the lack of selling routes can also make his catches more contested. The more technically refined he becomes here, the more that Burks gets to showcase his top traits, overall.

Separation

Being able to sell routes more efficiently is certainly a work in progress. When Burks does try to infuse double moves or fakes, there is often too much time wasted. Many useless movements can occur as well. Defensive backs are generally not too shaken by those. They actually lead to his separation decreasing, just as much as it does to benefit him in gaining more separation. The ability to extend plays and find the soft spots in coverage is a breath of fresh air for him, though. Burks is more assertive when it comes to attacking spots in zones when needing to create on elongated plays, or when having to come back to the football.

Release Package

Getting off of the line of scrimmage at the snap more smoothly is an area of improvement for him. Burks can be rather passive when given free releases against zone coverage or off-man coverage. This could lead to inconsistent timing on routes and when needing to attack leverage points. Burks does have some stutter step moves and long-arm moves that he uses when facing contact in press man coverage. However, those moves appear to be few and far between. The contact throws him off balance and leaves him frustrated when facing stiff jabs. Mainly, Burks is not as confident when facing contact at the line of scrimmage, compared to other receivers in this draft class.

CHIEFS FIT

If there is any receiver that Andy Reid may look to utilize in a versatile role as a 2022 rookie, Treylon Burks could possibly be one of the few. He actually makes a lot more sense for the Kansas City Chiefs now, after the Tyreek Hill trade. Burks will not truly replace Hill strictly by ability. But, his usage and role could be somewhat similar. Burks has primarily won from the slot, though other spots are not foreign to him. His combination of size, speed and ball skills make him a three level threat in the passing game. And above that, Burks has solidified himself as an explosive play producer.

Be on the lookout for our final FPC Chiefs mock draft coming out tomorrow, on Monday. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.