So much for this year’s draft being boring, huh? I can’t remember the last time the first round was full of so many trades and surprises. But, that’s exactly what we got in the 2022 NFL Draft. In particular, for the team I write about here on SoBros Network, it was downright shocking. The Tennessee Titans traded AJ Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for their first and third round picks. The Eagles immediately signed him to a four year, $100M contract. The Titans proceeded to draft wide receiver Treylon Burks out of Arkansas, and then traded out of the 26th overall pick when the New York Jets moved up to get Jermaine Johnson. Yeah – there were a lot of moving parts last night.
It’s weird, and I’m still not quite sure how I feel about it. My initial reaction was pure shock and anger. After all of these years that the Titans have been searching for a bona fide WR1, they finally get one, and they ship him off before his first contract is even up? WTF? WTFF? On top of that, all you could get for a $100M wide receiver was a first and a third? Seems like there should’ve at least been another pick in there.
Based on Mike Vrabel‘s body language in the clip from the war room and in the press conference after the draft, I’m not sure how on board he was with this decision. This despite his saying that they went to the extreme to keep Brown in Tennessee. Buck Reising reported that the mood in that war room after the trade was announced was “WTF.” Diana Russini reported that Brown had stopped communicating with the team. There’s so much that we don’t know, and probably never will.
But, if you take the emotion out of it, the logic of the decision is pretty straightforward. There was clearly a gap between what Brown wanted and what the Titans were willing to give him. So, they shipped him to someone who could pay him, and then they drafted a guy who does a lot of the same things well. I don’t know – I hope more details about last night emerge over time, but I’m going to do my best to reserve judgment on the trade until things play out. I’ve been a big fan of Burks since I first noticed him back during the college football season, though. Here’s what I wrote about him earlier this draft season:
Burks enters the NFL off of a red hot 2021 season during which he amassed 1,104 receiving yards and 11 receiving touchdowns. He decided to forgo his senior season to enter the NFL, and given that he’s being discussed among the top wideouts in this class, I’d say that was the right call to make. Believe it or not, he’s just the fourth player in Razorbacks history to eclipse 1,000 yards in a single season. Burks was named to the SEC’s All-Freshman team in 2019, was voted 2nd-team All-SEC in 2019 and 2020, and then capped off his college career with 1st-team All-SEC honors in 2021.
He was definitely the type of player that Arkansas wanted to feed the ball to as much as they could. He was lined up all over formations – out wide, in the slot, inline, in the backfield. In addition to the Brown comparisons, it’s pretty easy to see where the Deebo Samuel comparisons come from. I think there are a few valid nitpicks in his game, but those are few and far between, in my opinion. He has great size and great physicality, but it seems that at times, press coverage and jamming him up at the line can really throw him out of rhythm a little too easily. There were some instances of his drifting against zone coverage and not really identifying the right spot to attack. But, again – these are nitpicks. There’s a lot of room for him to fine tune the nuance in his game. He is a bit of a raw prospect, but man oh man, is he talented.
The more you watch of him, the more of his athleticism and physicality show up. It’s impressive, and to be honest, the AJ Brown comparisons look spot-on to me. Burks wins a lot of battles with his pure talent – he’s slippery in the open field and knows how to find gaps in coverage and accelerate right through them. He has a lot of incredible circus catches on his tape. It is easy to see why some think he could be a top 15 pick.
What’s left? Well, they still have needs along the offensive line, at tight end, maybe quarterback, defensive depth, and y’know….they probably need another wide receiver, too. It’s a good draft to have a wealth of picks in the middle round, and the Titans have seven of ’em now.
#Titans now:
— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) April 29, 2022
35th (second)
69th (third)
90th (third)
131st (fourth)
143rd (fourth)
163rd (fifth)
169th (fifth)
204th (sixth)
219th (sixth)
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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