National Football League

As Titans ready to face A.J. Brown, rookie receiver Treylon Burks is ascending

Updated Nov. 30, 2022 7:55 p.m. ET

Titans rookie Treylon Burks arrived in Nashville with pressure to fill A.J. Brown's shoes.

Unfair, sure, but inevitable.

After all, the first-round pick the Titans received in the draft-day blockbuster trade with the Eagles for Brown — No. 18 overall — was used on Burks. Tennessee needed a No. 1 receiver, and Burks was the top receiver drafted in his absence. Burks had a similar build to Brown, too. A similar physicality.

But the Titans have deflected those expectations off the former Arkansas star. They've acknowledged the similarities between them while also stressing they are different players — a point Burks himself reiterated Wednesday.

"He's A.J., I'm Treylon," Burks said. "We're two different people. We've both got our differences in our game."

But as the Titans (7-4) face Brown for the first time Sunday, when Tennessee plays Philadelphia (10-1) on the road at Lincoln Financial Field (12 p.m. CT on FOX), Burks is starting to flash signs of being the top playmaker needed to replace him in the long term.

Is it Super Bowl or bust for Jalen Hurts, Eagles?

The Philadelphia Eagles may no longer be undefeated, but they're not resting on their laurels, having made several additions. LeSean McCoy explains why Philly is Super Bowl or bust this season.

Burks got off to a slow start in Tennessee — between asthma and conditioning issues in the spring, and a turf toe injury that landed him on IR for four games — but the first-round pick has come into his own the last two weeks, with 11 receptions on 14 targets for 181 yards in that span.

Burks had his first career 100-yard receiving game on Thursday Night Football against the Packers in Week 11, highlighted by a win down the sideline against former Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander for a 51-yard reception that iced the game. Against the Bengals on Sunday, he corralled another 51-yard catch, high pointing a deep, contested ball over the middle.

"He's been great to work with. He's easy to work with," quarterback Ryan Tannehill said last week of Burks, who has 24 receptions for 334 yards in seven games this season. "He's talented, obviously. He's got size. He's got strength. Great hands. Judges the ball well. Can run. He has everything you're looking for."

While only time will tell if he can truly become a WR1, Burks has become an essential part of an offense that has desperately needed a consistent threat beyond star running back Derrick Henry. Burks' ability to stretch the field has opened up an improving passing attack, freeing space for his fellow pass catchers in the short and intermediate passing game.

Of all NFL wide receivers with at least 36 targets this season, Burks is tied for 15th in yards after the catch per reception (5.5), 16th in average separation from the nearest defender at the arrival of a pass (3.4 yards) and tied for 28th in catch rate (66.7%), according to Next Gen Stats. He ranks second, first and first in those three categories among rookie wide receivers, respectively.

Where has Burks grown the most? Confidence in knowing what's expected of him, Tannehill said.

"It's not just a concept on paper, it's how do we adjust each route to fit the defense that's out there," Tannehill explained. "Sometimes, there's a variation in how you run the route depending on the defense. In some concepts, we really need to pretty much stick to how we install it and you pretty much run it the same no matter what the defense is. Understanding the nuances and places where you have a little bit more of that freedom to put some variance in how you run the route and when you fit into a larger picture of where you need to be."

Coach Mike Vrabel pointed to Burks' improved attitude. The way he comes to work. Like the Green Bay game. On a short week with limited practice reps, Burks spent extra time with receivers coach Rob Moore in a walkthrough to correct mistakes.

"His ability to flush if there is a mistake — flush it and just go onto the next play, like you saw in the last game," Titans receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine told FOX Sports of Burks. "There might've been a missed opportunity early on, but made a big play when we needed it. Just having that resolve and that mentality that it's just one play at a time. … He's accepting all advice and figuring out what's best for him, which is a really professional way of handling it."

While Burks missed several practices in the spring and summer with setbacks, All-Pro safety Kevin Byard saw the rookie's contested-catch ability in training camp.

"I just see the confidence," Byard told FOX Sports. "Not necessarily that he's telling the quarterback, ‘hey, throw me the ball!' but you can just tell in the game, he's out there and he wants to make those big plays. He wants to be more than a deep threat. He wants to be our No. 1 receiver, which is obviously what we drafted him to be."

He'll do so being the only person he knows how to be.

"He does a great job of being himself, while buying into the program," receiver Cody Hollister told FOX Sports.

"He's just himself, which we all love."

Top stories from FOX Sports:

Ben Arthur is the AFC South reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.