The Dallas Cowboys could be a good place for a new third wide receiver.
As proposed by SB Nation’s Blogging the Boys‘ David Howman, one trade Dallas “should pursue” is involving Tennessee Titans wide receiver Treylon Burks. The Cowboys are obviously looking for a new third receiver after releasing Michael Gallup.
Howman argues that Dallas’ lack of quality depth at receiver — Jalen Tolbert would be the next man up — should lead to interest in Burks, who actually replaced A.J. Brown in Tennessee after they traded the star receiver to the Philadelphia Eagles.
“The team is optimistic about Jalen Tolbert, but not so much that they won’t hedge their bets in other ways,” writes Howman. “And adding a former first-round pick that the Cowboys themselves were once interested in sounds like the exact type of move this team gravitates towards. Enter Treylon Burks, the 18th pick of the 2022 NFL Draft. The Titans shocked everyone by trading A.J. Brown and picking Burks to replace him, an impossible expectation to live up to.”
Potential Treylon Burks Trade May Only Cost Day 3 Draft Pick
Howman also mentions that it should only cost a Day 3 pick for the former first-round draft pick.
“Coming out of Arkansas, Burks was praised for his size, strength, and competitive spirit,” writes Howman. “Some poor athletic testing sullied his draft stock, but Burks drew interest from plenty of teams, including Dallas. Swapping a Day 3 pick for the receiver now would be the perfect low-risk gamble to give Burks another shot in a new system.”
The 23-year-old Burks has been been very disappointing over the first two seasons of his career. Given every opportunity to emerge as the Titans’ No. 1 receiver, Burks has produced just 49 catches for 665 receiving yards and one touchdown during the first two years of his career.
While it’s true that the Titans haven’t exactly been the most stable of organizations — they shifted from Ryan Tannehill to rookie Will Levis as the starting quarterback in 2023 and have now changed head coaches — Burks simply hasn’t been very good early on in his NFL career.
But a change of scenery — a more stable situation in Dallas under Mike McCarthy and Dak Prescott — could bring out the very best in the 6-foot-2, 225-pound receiver. When factoring in that the Cowboys already have two established receivers in CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks, Burks could prosper with not as much defensive attention facing him.
Treylon Burks Once Compared to A.J. Brown Coming out of College
Although it’s hard to imagine considering Burks’ lack of production and Brown’s resume, the third-year receiver was actually once compared to the guy he replaced when he was coming out of the draft.
“Big, smooth and natural, Burks possesses the versatility to operate from wherever you want and get to wherever you need no matter the competition,” writes Zierlein. “He’s a mismatch receiver combining size, strength and competitiveness similar to the Titans’ A.J. Brown, but his speed testing at the NFL Scouting Combine did not meet expectations. Arkansas benefitted by putting the ball in his hands from a variety of alignments and there is no reason to believe NFL play-callers won’t benefit from doing the same.”
If the Cowboys can get the young receiver for a low draft pick, they should definitely consider trading for Burks.
