Titans' Ridley: Burks a stud like Julio, A.J. Brown, T.O.
Treylon Burks' NFL career has gotten off to a slow start, but new Tennessee Titans receiver Calvin Ridley is really impressed by what he's seen from the former first-round wideout at practice this offseason.
"This dude is a freak. Like, seriously, he's going to be a stud," Ridley said Wednesday, according to Fox Sports' Ben Arthur. "There's no worries with him. I mean, what I see - he's like Julio (Jones), A.J. Brown, he's like (Terrell Owens)."
The Titans drafted Burks 18th overall in 2022 after trading Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles for a first-round selection. However, Burks battled injuries in his first two NFL seasons and hasn't lived up to the hype.
The Arkansas product finished 2023 with 16 receptions, 221 yards, and no touchdowns, down from a 33-444-1 stat line in 2022. He ranked 145th in yards per route run among wide receivers last year, according to PFF.
"A dude that big, that fast? I mean, he's a stud,” Ridley added about the 6-foot-2, 225-pound Burks. "You don't have to worry about him. He's just got to learn, slow the game down. He'll be all right."
Brown - who spent his first three pro campaigns in Tennessee - has established himself as one of the NFL's top pass-catchers since joining Philly. He earned a second-team All-Pro berth in each of the last two seasons and recently became the highest-paid wideout in the league.
Jones, 35, remains unsigned. In his prime, however, he was an elite playmaker who led the NFL in receiving yards twice and earned seven Pro Bowl nods. Finally, Owens is widely considered one of the greatest receivers ever. A member of the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.
Brown, Jones, and Owens each had at least one 1,000-yard season within their first three years in the NFL.
The wide receiver position was a big need for the Titans this offseason, and the team addressed the issue by signing Ridley and Tyler Boyd. Ridley inked a four-year, $92-million contract with Tennessee, which also rosters veteran DeAndre Hopkins, among other pass-catchers.
"They're really good," Titans corner Chidobe Awuzie said Wednesday about the team's 2024 wideouts, according to reporter Paul Kuharsky. "I know those guys have all been proven in the NFL. Even the two guys that aren't starting right now, they're really good, all the way down to the bottom of the roster."
New Titans head coach Brian Callahan recently backed Burks, saying the 24-year-old will "carve out a role for himself" this year.