An afterthought in Tennessee, Treylon Burks is aiming for a big role with the Washington Commanders

ASHBURN, Va. — Treylon Burks smiled a little, knowing his tale might sound far-fetched.

As a younger man growing up in Arkansas, he used to go hog hunting on the weekends. It was a family activity, passed down through generations. They’d sit in the dense forests near the town of Warren, nestled in the southern corner of the state, and send a bulldog out to circle the hogs. Then, just as they were all penned in, Burks would swoop in and finish the job.

But there were a few times, Burks said, when the hogs would win. The 200-pound boars broke containment and charged his way.

“I’ve had to run up trees a couple of times,” he said. “I usually stay pretty careful when I do it, because they are dangerous.”

These days, his own health is paramount. Accordingly, he’s traded in hogs for less hazardous game like turkey and fish.

Burks is on a different kind of hunt now — one to revive his career as a former first-round pick who lost his way in the league. Any good hunter knows you can’t be on the defensive, can’t be running up trees, in the pursuit of prey. And too often in the NFL, Burks has just been fighting to stay afloat.

He’s dealt with injuries nearly every year since he was drafted in 2022. He’s been buried on the depth chart behind stars. Tennessee, which once picked him 18th overall, didn’t even let him finish his rookie contract before waiving him last season.

But the Washington Commanders extended him a lifeline. A clean slate. A top-flight quarterback. A wide open receiver room. Finally, Burks is on the offensive again.

“Honestly, I feel like this was the first offseason where I haven’t had to battle back from an injury,” he said. “I’ve never lost confidence in myself. I just want to keep getting better.”

The last time Burks had this clear of a runway was back in Arkansas. He was the top recruit who chose to stay home. In high school he played receiver, running back and a little quarterback. He dabbled on defense. In the offseason, he picked up basketball and baseball.

By the time he set foot in Fayetteville, Arkansas immediately started him at wide receiver and he recorded over 500 all-purpose yards as a freshman. By his third year, he hauled in 66 passes for 1,104 yards and 11 touchdowns.

NFL scouts fell in love with Burks’ size. At 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, he could body up corners and be a red zone threat. Draft analysts compared him to Pro Bowler A.J. Brown, and hinted they might be underselling it.

“He’s such a natural athlete for being so big, but that’s what we usually see from guys who play three sports in high school,” an anonymous executive told NFL.com. “They learn to move differently than football-only guys.”

But those lofty prognostications didn’t pan out. Burks left Arkansas after his junior year to declare for the draft, knowing a big payday awaited. The Titans moved up to get him, trading Brown to the Eagles in exchange for their first-round pick.

Brown went on to win a Super Bowl in Philadelphia. And Tennessee was left with an oft-injured player on a mediocre team.

Burks sprained his LCL in Year 2, derailing a promising start. Tennessee brought in DeAndre Hopkins the next year, only for Burks to tear his ACL and wipe away half his season. Before he played in another game, he fractured his collarbone in a joint practice the next summer.

Tennessee’s fan base soured on him, wondering if they should’ve kept Brown, and the front office waived him before he even got to a fourth year.

But Washington was in need of more talent around quarterback Jayden Daniels. Even with the injuries, the upside was worth it if Burks could get healthy. Besides, the Commanders already had Terry McLaurin as the top option.

“I think he has another level to go to,” general manager Adam Peters said in March. “He showed us a lot in practice and in the games when he was able to make some plays there.”

And for now, it is working as planned. Burks played eight games for Washington last season, completing an Odell Beckham Jr.-style one-handed catch for a touchdown on “Sunday Night Football” against the Broncos. The size and the athleticism, which once made him the jewel of the draft, were on full display.

Peters re-signed him to a one-year, $4 million deal in the offseason. The calculation was simple. The Commanders would give him every chance to find a spot on the depth chart. With a healthy winter, and few proven pass catchers in Washington, this was his chance to solidify himself as an NFL mainstay. If not, the team could move on with little cost.

Burks responded by dropping 10 pounds and is now one of Washington’s fastest players. For a while, it looked like he could rise to as high as the No. 2 spot until the team signed Stefon Diggs. But he remains a key part of the rotation. The first day of camp, he announced his presence on a jump ball in the end zone. Daniels lofted it up, and Burks rose above veteran corner Amik Roberson for a toe-tapping score.

“Last year brought the fun back of playing football, for me,” Burks said when he re-signed. “Adam and [head coach] Dan Quinn made it feel like home.”

Of course, home would include hog hunting. He offered to take it up his old hobby again if his teammates came down to Arkansas in the offseason. There were no takers.

“Not yet,” Burks joked.

Instead, they settled for fishing and golf in the D.C. area.

But until then, he’s fine with just having a football home again.

When Quinn was going through practice tape the other day, he stopped on a rep Burks had against cornerback Fabian Moreau. The veteran was draped all over the receiver, but it didn’t matter.

“He’s got a long catch radius, and so that’s the thing that you feel on a regular basis,” Quinn said. “Fabian had good coverage for him, but the quarterback had put it in just such a spot that Trey, with his length there, Fabian couldn’t get around.”

He finished, “He’s an excellent competitor, and so we’re very pleased with where he’s at.”