2022 NFL Draft: Wide Receiver Deep Dive - Treylon Burks

  

Treylon Burks - Arkansas

Overview:

Strengths:

1. Versatility - Can start from anywhere on the field and find success. Slot, backfield, in tight, and out wide are all viable options.

2. Contact balance - Sheds tackles with ease and has a nasty stiff arm. Rarely brought down from behind when he is in full stride.

3. Contested Catches - Even better at contested catches than some larger receivers due to excellent body positioning and massive hands.

4. Blocking - Knows how to set a stable base and use his length when necessary. Locks up defensive backs, and holds his own against linebackers.

Weaknesses:

1. Lateral Acceleration - His stop-start ability laterally is subpar, and he generally runs with more power than finesse with the ball in his hands.

2. Route Breaks - He runs his prescribed route, but rarely gives any misdirection on route breaks beyond five yards downfield.

3. Acute Change of Direction - Is rarely asked to do a 180, but any turn greater than 90 degrees is quite slow.

Grade: Mid-Late First

Treylon Burks is the number one wide receiver on many 2022 draft boards. While he is graded here as a mid-late first in a vacuum, he could easily fall into the top fifteen picks due to scheme fit and other evaluations.

Film:

Alabama (11/20/2021): 8-179-2

Great contact balance. Solid blocking. Does not really have a sudden release. Great contested catch. Does not get much separation on intermediate routes. Very physical. Lines up in slot and backfield primarily. Not twitchy. Great top speed, lesser acceleration. Seemingly shifty release early fourth quarter, but still does not get much separation against press outside. Uses size to box out corners. Less sure-handed than other games, but still excellent hands.

Auburn (10/16/2021): 9-109-2

Deadly stiff arms. Great blocking. Great job finding a hole in zone. Decent deep separation. He simply out-positions defenders, and does not drop contested catches. Great hop step on RAC.

Georgia (10/02/2021): 3-10-0

Good blocking. Great move off the line early second quarter; a target likely would have gone for a big play (was a QB draw, but the move was effective regardless) Rarely got one-on-one opportunity at any level of the field.

Texas A&M (09/25/2021): 6-167-1

Nice touchdown. Nothing special on the route, he just ran by Jones after a brief mildly effective stutter. Good good positioning on underthrows. Amazing hands. Missed a block. Excellent awareness and decision making on trick play.

Texas A&M (10/31/2020): 7-117-2

Great use of his body on touchdown catch along sideline. Very rounded routes. Great blocking. Subpar RAC in this game, but clearly a strong runner.

Coverage:

Press

Does not gain much separation against press. He is not an overly elusive wide receiver, nor does he need to be. He can make plays in tight coverage, and get to the ball in the air first on downfield throws.

Jam Response (in Press)

Did not observe many looks from only playing out wide 24.3% of the time and most corners preferring to turn and run with him in press. From the limited looks, he seemed to run right through a jam without slowing down whatsoever.

Soft Press

Good into soft press on the outside because he can dictate body position off of his breaks easily. Even if he does not gain much separation, he can win the contested catch if the ball comes his way.

Squat

Most outside corners turn to run with him early because starting on the outside usually leads to Burks running a deeper route, and Burks has the size and strength to out-muscle them and gain a positional advantage if they initiate contact.

Off

Burks frequently sees off coverage on the outside. There is not much nuance here. Corners attempt to stay between him and the end zone to prevent a touchdown (which does not always work with his RAC ability), and he will catch any ball thrown his way on the outside if to the back shoulder. This could have occurred more if he had a better 2021 quarterback.

Inside Zone

Excellent. Burks knows how to find a hole in zone coverage.

Route Distance:

Behind LOS

Burks can be used as a possession receiver getting the ball behind the LOS as he frequently did at Arkansas. He does not have elite acceleration, but he can still make guys miss and shed contact without slowing down.

0-5 yards

Nonexistent separation. He can slant and use his body to get between the ball and defender better than most receivers, so his lack of separation at this level is not concerning in the slightest.

5-10 yards

Great at finding a hole in the zone and out-positioning corners. Reliable at this level due to size and sure handedness.

10-15 yards

Burks has more rounded routes in this range, especially from the slot. He runs the dictated route, but does nothing special around this area of the field. This is where subpar route running can become an issue.

15-20 yards

The back shoulder catch is practically unstoppable. Maneuvers his body so that only he can get the ball. He can also easily gain a full head of steam by this distance, and make big plays with little separation.

20+ yards

Very productive on deeper routes. His deep separation can be decent, and make plays even when blanketed.

Blocking:

Willingness

Very willing blocker, and knows that he is good at it. Occasionally whiffs, not realizing that blocking would benefit a play.

Technique

Postures like a tight end while blocking inside. Uses length and size to lock up against any defensive back without trying. Against linebackers, he generally puts forth more effort and can usually hold his own.

Attributes:

Attributes		Grade (/10)	Notes
Separation	Short	5	Giving a 5/10 because he will get manufactured separation behind the LOS and do a lot with it. His ability to shake defenders on routes from 2-5 yards out is practically nonexistent. This is not to say that he has not done much with some targets received in that range, and has made goal line catches to his back shoulder, but the pure quantity of space between him and a defender manning him is usually close to zero.
	Medium	7	Good separation in zone, less so in man. 7/10 is slightly misleading because his ability to find holes in zone exceeds 7/10, and his ability to shed defenders easily if he is in stride and they try to tackle him from slightly behind makes each unit of separation more valuable than it is to smaller receivers, but the measurable separation he creates on intermediate routes in man coverage would be far lower than a 7/10.
	Deep	7	Gains more separation running deep from the slot than on the outside.
Release	Stance	9.5	Accelerates off of front foot. Upper body posture will change slightly at times. He is usually more upright, but occasionally leans forward more before running a deep route. No points are docked as it is infrequent and potentially negligible, but Burks could work on maintaining a consistent posture.
	Acceleration	6	Average suddenness leads to lesser acceleration and rounded routes. Has some stutters at the line which can appear shifty, but they rarely turn the hips of the opposing defender the wrong direction.
	Hip Control	6	Does a decent job for his size at sinking hips before accelerating and rotating them on false moves at the line, but change of direction and open field hip flips close to the line would be considered weaknesses.
Hands	Catch Reliability	9.5	Very sure hands. Has dropped some one-handed and diving sideline attempts, but catches every pass that is expected. Apparently he needs custom made 5XL gloves, which helps explain his elite hands.
	Catch Radius	9.5	Can catch the ball anywhere in his general vicinity. Contested Catch - Can undercut defenders on routes, as well as go up and pluck it out of the air. His basketball experience shows on the field.
Versatility	Starting Position	10	Can find success out wide, from the slot, in tight, and out of the backfield.
	Overall Skill Set	9	Burks can be a possession receiver, contested catch guy on the outside, and is great at blocking and finding the holes in zone. What Burks cannot be is a route running superstar who reliably gets open on the outside.
RAC	Athleticism	9	Overall quite athletic for his size.
	Agility	7.5	Surprisingly good agility with the ball in his hands, but not his strong suit. (Not to be confused with agility and change of direction on routes, which is subpar).
	Contact Balance	9.5	Can shed tackles and make stiff arms reliably for a receiver. Has repeatedly run out of bounds instead on seeking contact for an extra yard or two, even if it costs his team a first down, but that does not detract from his contact balance.
Awareness	Sideline	9.5	Back shoulder throws are deadly, but that is not a unique trait for a guy of his size. What makes Burks stand out from the rest is his positioning on imperfect passes and sure handedness.
	Defensive Scheme	9	He seems to recognize when he should sit in a zone or keep moving before the ball is snapped. He is not sudden in his routes from the slot, but he always knows where to be.
	Improvisation	5	Very little observed, but this could stem from the fact that Jefferson tucks and runs everything when a play starts going south.

Full Report:

Treylon Burks is an extremely versatile receiver who can make plays from anywhere on the field. He lines up mostly from the slot, where he excels at finding the holes in zone coverage and blocking at the second level. On the outside, he is a deep threat both over the top and with contested catches. His incredible body positioning and massive hands allow him to be the first to the ball and reliably make the catch. From the backfield, he is excellent with the ball in his hands. His acceleration is nothing special, but he has great speed once he gets a full head of steam. While lack of acceleration usually results in poor RAC, his ability to shed tackles and make stiff arms without slowing down makes him dangerous with every touch. The awareness of Burks is also apparent when it comes to decision making, how to run routes differently depending on coverage type, knowing which defender to block when confronting multiple, and always knowing where he is along the sideline. Acceleration, line release on the outside, and general route running at all levels are areas of weakness. If a team tries to use him as an outside receiver after being drawn to his size, contested catching, and big play ability, then he is not going to live up to his potential. He has all of the tools needed to be a threat at the NFL level, but likely cannot thrive as a receiver thrown into a generic preexisting role.

NFL Projection:

Likely

Big slot who moves around when necessary. Separation on the outside against press is subpar, but he can make back shoulder and contested catches with great positioning, physicality, and sure hands. The majority of his time will likely be spent in the slot due to his ability to reliably find holes in zone coverage, block, and gain more deep separation than he does from the outside.

Optimal

Ideally, he gets drafted to a team with a smart head coach who knows to change his look on nearly every play. He can be the featured number one receiver in a run-heavy offense that needs a receiver who can take a screen to the house, reliably get 5 yards underneath, and can catch deep shots out of play action passes. Getting 8+ targets and a couple of carries per game will be perfect if the targets vary in distance, and he is not stuck to one role for an entire game, even as a rookie.