[VIP] Film Friday: Inside Treylon Burks' Best Game
Let's talk about Treylon Burks, Todd Downing, and the Green Bay Packers on this week's Film Friday.
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I am doing the best I can to contain my excitement for the 2023 Tennessee Titans American tackle football season, but I just can’t help it. My JNCOs are tightening up as I am Titan’ing up. I feel like I might’ve been in a minuscule group of Titans (f)analysts who were optimistic about 2023 even before the Titans signed DeAndre Hopkins. Now, I’m damn near uncontrollable (I have already wagered my $10 on the Titans winning the Super Bowl - I may never financially recover if they don’t win). Part of that is because of sophomore wide receiver Treylon Burks. For one, he’s reportedly shown up to camp in better shape and the Titans have been moving him all around the formations in practices, so it sounds like he’s progressing nicely from a physical standpoint. But, another part of that is taking the optimistic view of what a change in offensive system could mean for the former Arkansas Razorback.
If you’re wondering why I’m so high on Burks, well…my crush on the guy goes back to the draft process. I was a big fan of his to begin with. He was #13 overall…yes….overall…on my 2022 big board. He was my WR1 from last year’s draft class. My eval of him last spring: “Burks has the least concerning red flags of any wide receiver I’ve watched so far. He can get jammed up against press man coverage, but he’s just so physical and athletic that you can easily see why a team would fall in love with him. He’s versatile, and can be lined up inline, out wide, in the slot, or even in the backfield. It’s easy to see why so many are comparing Burks to AJ Brown and Deebo Samuel. He really does look like that type of dude.”
Burks finished 2022 with 33 catches on 54 targets, 444 receiving yards, a receiving touchdown, and a Derrick Henry fumble recovered for a touchdown. Hardly All-Pro numbers, sure. On the surface, I’ve felt that Burks was grossly misused under Todd Downing, whose fluctuations in personnel made it hard for anyone to get into a rhythm. In revisiting that initial eval of Burks, I definitely don’t feel like the Titans did a good job of capitalizing on Burks’ versatility. In revisiting this game against the Green Bay Packers, I am basically confirming that belief in my own head. I’m not sure why they didn’t utilize him better. Burks averaged just three receptions per game (91st among pass catchers in the NFL), and 40.4 yards per game (69th). But, his 13.5 yards per reception were 24th in the NFL. So, when he did get the ball, he was a factor.
You can argue that the Packers game wasn’t technically his best game. I’m not going to fight you too hard on it. If you look at some of the advanced metrics, he had a good game against the Bengals the week after this one. And, he made a hell of a touchdown grab against the Eagles the week after that one. No matter the game, it definitely felt like Burks got a little mojo going over this stretch of games. A third of his receptions in 2022 came across these three games.
Ultimately, I decided to go with the Packers game because of the volume. Burks had seven catches for 111 yards on eight targets, his highest marks of the season. It’s been a while since I rewatched this game, and doing so with the benefit of hindsight in light of all the moves this team made in the offseason made it oddly hard to stomach. Despite this being the best and most complete game the Titans played all season, I felt like they didn’t really look as good as I remembered them looking at the time. Downing was just infuriating…even in this game, it’s frustrating to watch at times. So, let’s dig into my game notes and analysis from re-watching this Thursday night beatdown.