A former first-round pick turned wide receiver is now a trade target for the Detroit Lions.
Though it’s debatable to what extent, the Detroit Lions’ wide receiver group has lost a dependable target with Josh Reynolds gone. Looking ahead to next season, there is a lot of projection behind Amon-Ra St. Brown (Jameson Williams, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Antoine Green?) and maybe an injury question mark (Kalif Raymond). It’s probable that the position will be selected early in the draft.
With the draft pick they received in exchange for A.J. Brown from the Philadelphia Eagles, the Tennessee Titans selected Treylon Burks, who could hypothetically take the place of their primary wide receiver and reset the WR1’s contract clock. It hasn’t worked out; over the course of two seasons (22 games), Burks has only managed 49 catches due to a mix of poor quarterback play and injuries.
The Titans have also added DeAndre Hopkins and Calvin Ridley the last two offseasons, bumping Burks down the pecking order. On Wednesday, via ESPN’s Turron Davenport, Titans’ offensive coordinator Nick Holz had this to say about Burks.
“Treylon’s potential is very high. First-round pick, we see all the talent. But he’s going to get what he earns,” Holz said. “He’s got a skill set that he’s a big guy and can run and make contested catches. If he can find a way to do that for us, that’d be a pretty big addition.”
“He’s going to get what he earns” is an obvious sentiment. Too obvious, truly. Entering his third season, Burks ostensibly isn’t going anywhere, and a fresh start with a new coaching staff may benefit him in Tennessee.
Burks turned a strong senior year at Arkansas (2021)—66 catches for 1,104 yards and 11 touchdowns—into a 2022 draft selection that was among the top-20. With seven touchdowns, he also exceeded 16 yards per catch for the Razorbacks in 2020. He can win contested catches and is a large (6-foot-4, 225-pound) downfield target. Even though he is only 24 years old, it is reasonable to believe that his skill has not entirely vanished after two seasons in the NFL.
Burks and the third sixth-round pick the Lions would receive this season in exchange for the pick they acquired from the Eagles in exchange for D’Andre Swift aren’t a bad deal. Though it’s worth considering if such a high pick would be necessary to get Burks, perhaps you could use that fourth-round pick in 2025 to acquire a pick back in addition to Burks.
If the Lions choose to acquire a wide receiver before the draft, or in a different round altogether, they should be classified as “low-risk” players. Burks also has promise, which is likely only going to be realized with a change of environment. Two years ago, the Lions had him in for a top-30 visit.
