FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – This past NFL draft was required glimpsing for Arkansas fans wondering whether former Razorback first round draft pick Treylon Burks will still be with the Tennessee Titans once the June cuts roll around.
Tennessee has a new coaching staff and Burks has been slowed by various injuries over his career so there was a lot of speculation as to whether he would be the No. 1 target for a cut in a few weeks. Fortunately for Burks, it appears the freshly installed regime is at least content to kick the tires on him and what’s left of his rookie contract before putting him out to pasture.
The Titans waited until the sixth round to pick up a wide receiver. Tulane’s Jha’Quan Jackson doesn’t come off as an effort by management to shove Burks out the door just yet.
In two seasons he has only put up 655 yards and one touchdown. Combined, those two years are worse than all but his freshman season. It’s barely halfway to his 1,100+ yards from his final season at Arkansas and 10 touchdowns short of that year’s production. It’s only half the. number of touchdowns he had in a single game against Alabama in 2021.
The good news is Callahan has experience developing SEC players. He coached LSU’s Joe Burrow (QB) and Ja’Marr Chase (WR) and Alabama’s Jermaine Burton (WR) as the Bengals core offensive production. It is expected the offense will be more open than under previous coach Mike Vrabel.
“He’s gonna do a little bit of everything, you know, versatility for us,” Callahan said. “So, he’ll be able to do some stuff outside. Ultimately, it’s my role and our coaching staff’s role to find a handful of things that he can really help us with and highlight those as much as possible. Some of them might be in the slot. Some of them might be outside, but I’m fired up and I think he’s got a chance to help us.”
Speaking of SEC players, the top of the draft is expected to be loaded with them next season. Every player in the Top 6 outside of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders is expected to come from the SEC.
The now married monster on the edge is slotted at No. 30 to the always defense friendly Baltimore Ravens. Short of injury, it’s hard to imagine Jackson doing anything in his final season as a Razorback to fall out of the first round.
If last season was any indication, it should be a big season for him. Last year he doubled his stats in nearly every category. His tackles jumped from 23 to 44, solo tackles went up from 14 to 22, and sacks more than doubled after they went from three to six.
One thing is for certain though. However, they each do, good or bad, it’s going to have a major impact on the 2025 NFL Draft’s first round.
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