FAYETTEVILLE — Naturally, when the 2021 NFL Draft came to a close on May 1, way-too-early projections and mocks for next year’s draft began to trickle out.
To the surprise of virtually no one who has watched Arkansas star receiver Treylon Burks in his first two seasons with the Razorbacks, the Warren native is seen as a first-round selection by multiple news outlets. NBC Sports predicted Burks to be selected No. 16 overall to the Tennessee Titans.
The Draft Network and Bleacher Report tabbed him as the No. 24 and No. 25 pick, respectively, to the Green Bay Packers.
“No collegiate player is better at providing a target for his quarterback,” Bleacher Report NFL analyst Brent Sobleski wrote May 3.
A dynamic playmaker on the perimeter who is an enticing mix of power and speed, Burks has been labeled by teammates as a one-of-a-kind talent. He was a shining light amid turmoil in 2019, landing on the All-SEC rookie team after becoming the fifth true freshman in program history to finish with 400-plus receiving yards.
Burks was also a second team All-SEC selection as a return specialist, totaling 226 kickoff return yards and 130 yards on punt returns, the most by a Razorback in a season since Joe Adams in 2011. The following year, he broke out and truly emerged as of one of the elite skill players in the SEC.
He had team highs in catches (51), receiving yards (820) and touchdowns (7), averaging better than 91 yards per game against an SEC-only schedule.
Burks, though, is blissfully unaware of those statistics. Ask him about his numbers from either season at Arkansas, he couldn’t recite them, and he doesn’t care to. For a player of his caliber, Burks is uncommonly humble and present, consistently where his feet are.
Playing in the social media age, he isn’t a boastful, flashy star. He has posted to his Twitter account less than 200 times since joining in March 2016, and his 19,500 followers on Instagram have laid eyes on only 13 uploads and two spontaneous live videos following team wins at Mississippi State and against Ole Miss last fall.
That trait was passed down to Burks from his great grandfather.
“It ain’t all about talking all the time, showing people what you do,” Burks said. “You go do it, people will see it. I’ve carried that on with me, and I’ll teach that to my kids one day. I just keep that in mind.”
The thought of his football dream being realized and name being called by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after next season enters his mind every so often. But it isn’t a vision that lingers or consumes him.
First, there is work — having a greater understanding of the intricacies of coverages and formulating the most efficient ways to manipulate defenses — to be done.
“I’m still not there yet,” Burks said. “I still have to improve. I’m still with the Arkansas Razorbacks, so why would I think about being with another team when I’m with one already?”
Should Burks declare for the 2022 NFL Draft and be selected, he would become the first Arkansas receiver drafted since Cobi Hamilton in 2013 and fifth since 2012. Additionally, he would be the fourth Razorback from his hometown of Warren, joining Greg Childs, Jarius Wright and Chris Gragg.
And if NBC Sports’ prediction comes to fruition, Burks would be the program’s highest-drafted receiver in 60 years.
"What he needed to do to become a standout, an unbelievable player, is get in better shape, and we talked to him about that," Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said at SEC Media Days. "Just going out there and hunting them hogs wasn't really getting him in the greatest shape in the world, so he had to do more than just that.
"He has done that. He's lost some weight. He looks good. He's more confident and things of that nature."
Burks, entering his junior year, is motivated by the notion that he has the opportunity to change the Arkansas program, which has not won more than four games since 2016, for the better. He takes to heart the fact that children, teenagers and high school athletes, and even adults, look up to him. That keeps him going on a daily basis.
Wanting to make his great grandmother proud is an added boost.
Burks was shaped by Warren, the small football-rich town in south Arkansas. On the field, Lumberjacks coach Bo Hembree helped develop Burks, who considers the coach a second father. He claims, too, that Hembree knows him better than he knows himself. Away from football, the town is where he learned to hunt, fish, be kind and selfless.
“Coming from somewhere that small, it teaches you to always stay humble because you don’t have a lot,” Burks said. “Coming to Fayetteville, yeah, it’s a bigger city than Warren, but it teaches you to put your head down and work.”
The work Burks put in in recent years now has him in position to help guide a Razorbacks offense led by presumed starter KJ Jefferson, who he was roommates with as a freshman. Burks has tremendous confidence in Jefferson, and he believes their off-the-field bond will translate in 2021.
The duo has been waiting on this opportunity for some time.
“That connection right there is real strong,” said Burks, who caught 10 of 14 targets for 400 yards and five touchdowns on passes that traveled 16-plus yards downfield last season. “Everybody should know that. That’s my guy. We’ll do anything for each other. Knowing that you’ve got that guy that’ll throw it up any time when he’s in trouble and him knowing I’ll catch it any time, that’s just something to have.
“All my catches from KJ, period, from the past were on deep balls. That ain’t really going to change with me and him.”
The week after Arkansas’ spring game, its receivers room took a hit with the transfer of Mike Woods, who posted career highs in catches, yards and touchdowns in 2020. With Woods now at Oklahoma, the Razorbacks will lean on Trey Knox, De’Vion Warren and a number of unproven receivers.
Knox, who admitted in the spring that he battled confidence issues last season, is back with the hope of returning to freshman-season form. He caught seven passes for 70 yards after a 2019 campaign in which he had 28 receptions for 385 yards and three scores.
“I hold myself to a higher standard,” Knox said. “My freshman year was a good year, but we’re just trying to expound upon that, be better. I’d like to try to meet those expectations because I know I can. I’m going to push myself every day to do it.”
Warren is expected to return after suffering an ACL tear in the Razorbacks’ loss at Florida. He was in the midst of a breakout season with 15 catches and three touchdowns prior to the injury.
Pittman said in Hoover, Ala., that Warren has had a good summer.
“I’m ready, honestly, and probably more ready than he is to be back,” Burks said of Warren. “That’s a great kid. He worked so hard to get to where he was last year. For that to happen, that was a big tragedy, but he’s going to bounce back better and be a lot better. I’m around him every day coming in the training room to get treatment and stuff. I see him every day.
“He’s working hard just to get back. Seeing that shows me he’s going to be ready.”
Burks is eager to see further progress from Tyson Morris and Kendall Catalon, the team’s freshmen — Jaedon Wilson, Ketron Jackson, Bryce Stephens — and John David White. A redshirt sophomore from Little Rock, White was a standout in the spring game, bringing in five catches for 87 yards and a score.
Pittman said the quick 5-11 White has earned a role on the perimeter.
“I love him,” he added. “He can separate in his routes, he catches, he blocks, he’s tough. There’ll certainly be a place for him. I like him.”
Despite Woods’ departure, Burks remains confident in those in his position group.
“It was a big loss,” he said, “but we’ve got people in there that’s going to step up and contribute. I think we’re going to be fine.”
A version of this story first appeared in Hawgs Illustrated