By all accounts, Treylon Burks is meeting and exceeding expectations for the Tennessee Titans this offseason.
Last year people were concerned about his asthma that limited him in OTAs and minicamp, but this year coaches and critics alike lauded him for his conditioning and his improved emphasis on taking care of his body in the offseason.
Throughout the course of 2022, Burks showed that he could be a threat in every area of the field whether that meant winning on deep balls, intermediate routes, or even on the handful of chances he had to run the ball on sweeps or reverses.
Health was an issue, but neither of his injuries should be problems that repeat in the future (turf toe and a concussion) so those feel like non-issues going forward.
Putting it all together, it is easy to be optimistic about Burks going into his second season with the Tennessee Titans. He is in great shape, his injuries are likely in the past, he is getting positive reviews from his coaches, and there is some hope that the offense won't be the same "run-run-pass" nonsense that led fans to pull their hair out in 2021 and 2022.
If you were still on the fence after all of that, maybe this recent trend for second-year receivers will push you to the optimistic side.
Recent history is kind to receivers like Treylon Burks
Marcus Mosher spotted a trend with second-year receivers that were drafted in the first round over the last five years. Take a look:
Wide receivers typically make a jump in Year 2.
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) June 27, 2023
Here is how much each first-round WR has improved (via @PFF grades) since 2017: pic.twitter.com/9VPX8HV3cm
If you want to use PFF as a metric for development, over the last five years 11 of the last 18 first-round receivers improved their grade from year one to year two. Even when you include the players who didn't improve, the group as a whole had an average improvement of 5.2 points.
When you limit that group to receivers drafted in the top-20 (like Burks), the results are even better with 9 of 10 players improving and the one that didn't improve was Ja'Marr Chase whose score was down 0.1 points.
On average, that group improved 10.4 points from year one to year two, which could be massive for Burks who already earned an impressive 74.1 rating (9th out of 22 1st round receivers over the last six years).
All of the evidence is there for a Treylon Burks breakout with or without DeAndre Hopkins. Right now there is a lot of negative news surrounding the Tennessee Titans, but hopefully, that can be a beacon of positivity for this fan base.