All Hogs

BURKS BREAKDOWN: New York Jets

We evaluate Burks to the Jets through a Southeast Arkansas lens

Kent Smith

The newest NFL mock drafts are out and Arkansas receiver Treylon Burks has made his way into the first round, this time as the second receiver taken at No. 13 by the Cleveland Browns. 

Both Browns fans and New York Jets fans have made it clear they want the large speedy wide receiver with hands big and strong enough to palm a bowling ball. 

However, those hands aren't made for palming bowling balls and hailing cabs. They're made for snatching bass and catfish out of the water and dragging a fresh kill out of the woods to be prepped for the dinner table. 

So while there are plenty of teams that want Burks in running routes in their city, does their city provide Burks with what he'll need to be happy there?

Over the next four days we'll take a look at each team that projects to draft a receiver in the first round and evaluate them on what matters most – quarterback, freshwater fishing, and hunting.

No. 10 NEW YORK JETS

Screen Shot 2022-02-07 at 8.37.55 PM

Projected pick: Garrett Wilson, WR, Ohio State

QUARTERBACK: Zach Wilson

It's never a good sign when you go to look up how your possible future quarterback stacks up against the rest and you have to click "Continue to Next Page" after running out of players from a list of the Top 25.

Wilson ranks No. 30 in passing yards for the year, although he did miss a few games after suffering an injury agains the Patriots in late October.

USATSI_17068220_168396119_lowres
Chris Pedota/USA Today Networ
USATSI_17386093_168396119_lowres
Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

However, the numbers he was able to accumulate in the games he played do little to build confidence. He completed only 55% of his passes over 13 games, including games with completions of 35% and 45%. 

The more telling story is the nine touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Burks caught as many touchdowns in his last seven games as Wilson threw in nearly twice as many games. 

Burks' quarterback K.J. Jefferson, who is widely known as a run-first quarterback, threw for 300 more yards than Wilson over the same number of games even without Burks at the bowl game against Penn State.

RULING: Poor fit

FISHING: The running jokes about the heavy pollution in the rivers along the New York/New Jersey border have persisted for decades and are believable enough to keep a young fisherman from small town Arkansas away in favor of better grounds.

However, there is hope for Jets fans. Roughly 30 miles east of the Jets home stadium is Boonton Reservoir. Lining its shores are several bedroom communities full of small neighborhood roads lined with beautiful trees featuring gorgeous homes at prices that are more than reasonable for an NFL area. 

Photos of the towns could be placed on a website of some of the more desirable neighborhoods in Arkansas and no one would be able to tell the difference. The majority of the homes appear to have double garages, perfect for parking a video and a boat/trailer. 

There is a tip of the reservoir near some of the nicer, more peaceful looking neighborhoods that looks like it's begging someone to flip over a five-gallon bucket and spend an afternoon flipping a jig pole under the trees. 

The reservoir's site lists the primary fish caught as bass and black crappie, two staples of rivers, overflow lakes and borrow pits of South Arkansas.

With trout and pike, two fish southern Arkansans would consider trash fish, avoided for more preferable species, the rating in this category is higher than expected. 

November through early April are too cold for fishing in New Jersey, which eliminates about 3.5 months of good fishing, although a month and a half of that would be during the season. 

The win for the area are the spring like temperatures during the summer where fishing can comfortably happen all day, although a light jacket might be needed during the early morning and late evenings of June through July. 

Fishing still happens in Arkansas during this time, but usually with a break from 10:30 a.m. until about 6 p.m.

Ruling: Shockingly favorable

HUNTING: New Jersey offers over 100 days of deer season and an all-encompassing license that covers all hunting and fishing for $72.00, which are huge pluses for the area.

An additional positive is the large number of public lands open for hunting, which would mean Burks wouldn't have spend time and money finding the right hunting club with quality leased lands. 

While there is no hog hunting, which is a claim to fame for Burks as he hunts them with only a knife, his agent and fans will see this as a bonus as it eliminates the temptation to get torn up by a boar, taking him away from workouts and possibly the season.

Than again, there is a black bear hunt, and it's hard to imagine Burks not wandering into the woods of New Jersey with a large knife or two hoping to come face to face with a bear that will break the 700-pound record set by a New Jersey bow hunter set a few years ago with his bare hands.

Ruling: Unexpectedly favorable

OVERALL: When people think of the New York Jets, they think of the New York City lifestyle. When they think of New Jersey, old episodes of Jersey Shore come to mind. 

Both would be horrible fits for a country boy from the Saline/Ouachita River woods of Arkansas. 

However, if Burks is willing to make the commute, the lifestyle could be favorable for the lifestyle he loves. He could also pick fellow former Warren Lumberjack/Arkansas Razorback Chris Gragg for perspective on how to make the days there more enjoyable.

Unfortunately, quarterback is a major downside that is too hard to overlook. Getting saddled with Zach Wilson at this point in his development is something no receiver hopes to have happen.

FINAL RULING: There are worse NFL cities to be from a life standpoint, but a No. 30 quarterback who throws more interceptions than touchdowns and struggles to throw an accurate ball makes the New York Jets a poor fit,

Published
Kent Smith
KENT SMITH

Kent Smith has been in the world of media and film for nearly 30 years. From Nolan Richardson's final seasons, former Razorback quarterback Clint Stoerner trying to throw to anyone and anything in the blazing heat of Cowboys training camp in Wichita Falls, the first high school and college games after 9/11, to Troy Aikman's retirement and Alex Rodriguez's signing of his quarter billion dollar contract, Smith has been there to report on some of the region's biggest moments.