When the Tennessee Titans agreed to part ways with star receiver A.J. Brown in a massive draft-day trade with the Philadelphia Eagles, they simultaneously bet on Arkansas standout Treylon Burks to fill the void. Just minutes after fans received word of the move, the Titans selected the 22-year-old wideout with the No. 13 pick. Naturally, their draft decision was placed on the backburner.
The Titans' reluctance to finalize a long-term deal with Brown provoked the ire of fans. And the Pro Bowl receiver recently told ESPN that he would've stayed with them if they offered more than $20 million -- Philadelphia signed him to a four-year, $100 million contract, with $57 million guaranteed. But Tennessee is counting on Burks to emerge as an elite weapon at a fraction of the price. And CBS Sports draft analyst Chris Trapasso has drawn parallels between the two.
"I really liked the Burks pick. Now, that was kind of panned as a bad selection, because it came on the heels of the Titans trading Brown," Trapasso explained to the Reiter Than You show on Tuesday. "And I get it -- teams are all-in today. They're trading for receivers, and you get the established player. But Burks is a Brown-type receiver. He's not Brown 2.0. But his yards-after-catch abilities, the fact he's big and physical, and plays like a running back after the catch...
"They can incorporate him into the offense almost identically to the way that they used Brown. So, to move off a receiver, not have to pay him $25 million per year with almost $60 million fully guaranteed, and then pick someone up who's a much cheaper version of Brown... To get Treylon Burks -- and actually get compensation for that and not have to pay big receiver money -- that was kind of the low-key, favorite receiver selection of mine in the first round."
Burks -- listed at 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds -- was the seventh-ranked receiver and 46th overall prospect on Pro Football Focus' draft board. In three seasons with Arkansas, he racked up 146 catches for 2,399 yards with 18 touchdowns in 32 games. Burks displayed his speed and threat as a vertical target in 2021, finishing with 1,1104 yards (fourth-highest in SEC), 11 scores (fourth), and 16.7 yards per reception (third).
As for Brown -- who was a second-round pick in 2019 -- he's emerged as one of the NFL's best young receivers. Over the past three seasons, the 24-year-old has racked up 2,995 receiving yards with 24 touchdowns, and produced two 1,000-yard campaigns. In 2021, he played in just 13 games, finishing with 63 receptions for 869 yards and five touchdowns. Brown's market value was $91 million across four years with a $22.7 million AAV, according to Spotrac.
The entire 2022 NFL Draft conversation between Trapasso and Reiter can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the Reiter Than You show on Twitter @sportsreiter and @CBSSportsRadio, and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.