Submitted by: AdamHawk23
Only one NFL city has fewer than a million people living within its borders. Only one team in the NFL gives off a small-town vibe in a big corporate football world. That team, of course, is the Green Bay Packers. The only small-town team left, the lone survivor of a dying breed.
What better fit for a small-town team than a small-town kid?
Enter Treylon Burks, otherwise known as the 6 foot 2 run-after-contact-machine wide receiver from the University of Arkansas.
Born March 23rd, 2000, in Warren, Arkansas (Population: 5,646), the 21 year old Burks expects to hear his name called within the first 32 selections of the NFL draft. There’s a good reason for that too. Despite being from a small high school in a rural town where pine trees outnumber people three to one, Burks dominated the competition for the Warren Lumberjacks, and led them to a state championship in 2016, and a second place finish in 2017. Joining the Arkansas Razorbacks in 2019 as a 4-star recruit, Burks flashed his potential for two seasons before exploding this past season, tallying 66 receptions for 11 touchdowns and 1,104 yards receiving. Burks was named First Team All-SEC for his efforts, and enters the draft this year as an underclassman.
At the NFL Combine, Burks may not have raised his draft stock, but it certainly didn’t decline either. He ran a solid 4.55 40, turned in a 33 inch vertical, and weighed in at 225 pounds. While the combine gives us an interesting view of a prospect’s physical attributes, game film and tape will always be an important factor to the prospect evaluation process. On tape, Burks explodes past defenders, out-running some of the SEC’s finest defenders on deep routes and short crossing routes. With glue-like hands, he brings down everything thrown near to him, and excels at jump balls. Incredibly strong for a wide receiver, Burks is well nigh impossible to tackle in the open field. As PFF insider Bruce Feldman said:
“Burks is one of the strongest wide receivers in college football. Benching 380, squatting 500, and power-cleaning 320.”
Treylon Burks has all the tools to not only succeed on the NFL level, but also to be a star. Draftniks such as Daniel Jeremiah and Mel Kiper have him going 26th and 19th respectively, but the so-called “experts” are rarely correct about later first round picks, so there’s no telling when exactly Burks will end up hearing his name being called on draft day. Treylon Burks is yet another name that Brian Gutekunst will likely be keeping an eye on as the first round of the NFL draft rolls merrily along.
