Who's the SEC's WR1 for 2021? Why Treylon Burks has a better case than George Pickens
Immediately after Treylon Burks scampered in for the first touchdown of the Sam Pittman era in the season-opener against Georgia, it became obvious to more than just the Arkansas faithful.
No longer held down by the Chad Morris offense, Burks was ready for new heights. Sure enough, he took off. In 2021, he was everything that Hog fans could’ve hoped for.
In addition to racking up 820 yards and 7 scores in just 9 games of action against all SEC competition, Burks graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 9 Power 5 receiver, and he had the No. 8 receiving grade among all FBS receivers. Only 2 returning Power 5 players had better receiving grades than Burks in 2020, neither of whom hail from the SEC. John Metchie is the only returning SEC receiver who had more yards than Burks last year — 96 more to be exact — though the former had 4 more games to compile those numbers.
Burks is, by all accounts, a star.
Yet when 2021 kicks off, do I expect it’ll be Burks who gets preseason love as the SEC’s best receiver? Nope. George Pickens will likely be that guy.
On the surface, it makes sense. The former 5-star wideout had 23 catches for 373 yards in his 4 games with JT Daniels, who is returning to Georgia for another season after taking over in the final month of 2020.
You know. In case you haven’t heard.
But give me Burks over Pickens for WR1 in the SEC.
It’s not that I don’t think Pickens is capable of putting up big numbers in Georgia’s revamped offense. He finally is in a system that can execute a deep passing game, which plays perfectly into his hands. Some weeks, I bet he’ll look like the best receiver in America. It’s more that over the course of a full season, I have more trust in Burks being a stud week in, week out.
Part of that was what 2020 showed us. Burks wasn’t quarterback or game-flow dependent like Pickens has been throughout his career.
By the way, did you realize that in the first 18 games of his career, Pickens only hit the 100-yard mark once? Granted, he did that twice in his final 2 games of 2020. Still, though. We’re talking about someone with 1 career 100-yard game against SEC competition.
Burks, on the other hand, did that 4 times last year. That included his 7-catch, 102-yard performance in the aforementioned opener against Georgia. We won’t count Burks’ 102-47 advantage against Pickens that day because as any Georgia fan probably already said by the time this sentence was over, that was with a different quarterback. Stetson Bennett IV ain’t Daniels.
Speaking of playing with different quarterbacks, 3 of Burks’ 100-yard games came with Feleipe Franks, who is off to the next level. Some might assume that means Burks is destined to take a step back without the rocket-armed quarterback around. Not so fast.
Remember that electric Arkansas-Mizzou game? KJ Jefferson played that entire game. He completed 18 passes. Ten went to Burks. Jefferson had 274 passing yards. A whopping 206 (!) of them went to Burks.
KJ Jefferson to Treylon Burks for 68-yard touchdown.
Burks has been unguardable at times this season.pic.twitter.com/a2YtmFCC9Y
— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) December 5, 2020
Notice the point that my co-worker made there. Burks was “unguardable” at times in 2020. The guy averaged 7.6 yards after the catch (PFF). Keep in mind that he played 433 of his 515 snaps in the slot. In addition to being “unguardable,” the guy was a nightmare to tackle at 6-3, 232 pounds. At that size, he still managed to catch 17 passes of 20-plus yards downfield, which PFF had charted as No. 10 among Power 5 receivers.
I know what you’re thinking, Georgia fans. Didn’t Pickens have some ridiculous numbers, too?
Sure. As a true freshman, he got 77 targets and not a single one of them was dropped, and as a sophomore, he had a contested catch rate of 64.3% (PFF). In Georgia’s 2 bowl games, Pickens was remarkable. He had a combined 19 catches for 310 yards and 2 scores. That area, obviously, trumps Burks, who has yet to play in a postseason game.
But if we’re looking strictly at 2020 numbers — when Burks played in his first non-Morris offense — there’s really no debate over who the better player was:
For what it’s worth, Pickens wasn’t even the highest-graded receiver on his own team in 2020. Kearis Jackson was (along with Burks and 13 other SEC receivers).
I know there are some Georgia fans yelling at their phones/computers/tablets.
But the quarterback play!
I do see the irony in that considering it’s Georgia fans who have made their fair share of Franks jokes over the years, and now some (not all) will argue that having him instead of Bennett makes it an unfair comp. To that, I’d say Pickens played nearly half of his games with Daniels, who is a fellow former 5-star recruit. And those PFF grades are mentioned because they don’t punish receivers for poor quarterback play. It’s about winning matchups and capitalizing on opportunities. Burks did a better job of that in 2020.
There’s another point that Georgia fans will probably make on Pickens’ behalf.
But the spectacular plays!
I can’t deny that. Pickens makes video game plays. There’s no doubt that in his draft-eligible year, he’s going to have a highlight reel that’ll make NFL scouts drool.
Good. God. George. Pickens. #GoDawgs #CFAPeachBowl pic.twitter.com/riBs4vmM0p
— Saturday Down South (@SDS) January 1, 2021
Reminder: George Pickens is only a freshman 😳 pic.twitter.com/6L4YaDwH3N
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) November 10, 2019
I was at the Mizzou game. Watching Pickens that night confirmed that the talent isn’t lacking.
Making the spectacular play is Pickens’ best attribute. He high-points, he can lay out, and as a sophomore, he really showed that he could catch balls in traffic. Those often come in highlight-reel fashion.
But this is why I can’t get on board with Pickens being better than Burks. If the deep-ball prowess is supposed to be the separator, then why is it Burks who averaged nearly 2 yards per catch better than Pickens? It’s not as if Burks is lacking in the spectacular play department.
For my money, this was the catch of the year in college football:
Treylon Burks, this is insane. pic.twitter.com/uSyVwybTnN
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) October 17, 2020
There’s body control, and then there’s whatever that is. Mercy.
At the very worst, Burks is slightly behind Pickens when it comes to turning seemingly uncatchable balls into viral plays. Those are a quarterback’s best friend. I’d still argue Burks has been better on his quarterback and his head coach.
And while I realize it’s been well-documented, Pickens’ discipline issues have to factor somewhere into this. If the Georgia Tech fight or the Jarrett Guarantano water bottle spray incidents were one-offs, this would be a different conversation. If you’re going to be a true No. 1, those things can’t keep happening.
Pickens has yet to show that he can be counted on as a true No. 1 for a full season. Jackson beat him by a single yard for the title of “Georgia’s leading receiver,” and Pickens still doesn’t consistently run his routes at the level of someone like Jermaine Burton.
Burks might not have had the competition around him that Pickens did, but one could argue that helps make the case for the Arkansas pass-catcher because in theory, he should be easier to game plan against for a defense. Still, it was Burks who put up better numbers than Pickens in basically every category.
Either way it plays out, it’ll be fun to see what Burks and Pickens can do with a relatively normal offseason after both played in new (more favorable) systems with new quarterbacks in 2020. Hopefully, both can stay healthy after each dealt with nagging early-season injuries. Both are entering their draft-eligible seasons, and they’ll do so with considerable buzz. Expect more of that buzz to be focused on Pickens.
But who deserves to be the SEC’s preseason No. 1? No. 16 in Fayetteville.
LOL. Okay, cool. Sic’em.
Bama WRs: Hold my beer…
Say what you will about his perspective, Connor certainly knows where his clicks are, nice attempt at stirring that pot, go Dawgs!
Put mullet in an article header and it’s a guarenteed click factory
I kinda think Burk’s chances of ending next season as the number one WR in the SEC hinges on Arky’s new QB whoever that is.
The QB to WR chemistry is critical and that’s already been established with JTD and George Pickens.
I predict (and it’s an easy prediction) that George Pickens will have a 1,000 yard season and displace Terrance Edwards as UGA’s leader in yards for a single season. Sorry Terrance, had to happen sooner or later.
Maybe we get TWO 1,000 yarders. Jermaine Burton maybe?
Go Dawgs!
Are you saying Connor may have (unintentionally of course) forgot to mention the 68.5% completion rate Franks is no longer with Burks? Imagine that…lol
If Perkins finally matures and gets his focus on leading by example and impressing for the next level, he’ll blow away Burks…unfortunately George maturing is a huge IF…something just seems wrong with the wiring in that kid I’m afraid. One blown head gasket away from some serious trouble. Sure hope he proves me wrong.
Actually, he did mention that Frank’s is gone.
You are absolutely right. Missed it in my first drive by. Dad gum it Darth you made me go back and read it again, I stand corrected. 5 yard penalty on the humper, illegal summation!
I like “illegal summation.” I might start stealing that.
Leghumper didnt read the article. Just an attempt at being witty. Failed.
It’s not protected by copyright so by all means use the heck out of it, however it’s only a 5 yard penalty and replay of down. If you want to hit em with a major flag, there’s a 15 yard one for flagrant delusional exaggerating. I’ve worn my throwing arm out tossing the yellow rag at the gator fans on this site for that infraction! It comes with a loss of down, and Cheers mate!
Well turned phrase. Hope your arm gets better because you aren’t going to get it any rest with some of these folks
burton had a good freshman season, but he still left a lot to be desired. he had a ton of drops. that’s one thing that you can’t say about pickens or blaylock. hoping blaylock is ready and able for next year.
Can’t agree more, Blaylock could be the X factor if he’s fully recovered…
Conner’s acute DDS is flairing up again
Dawg Derangement Syndrome
Connor has opinion. I watched Perkins more than Burks so I might be biased but I know covering Perkins will be a hard job for any DB. Coupled with what all Coach Saban has to replace on offense, defense, AND in the coaching ranks and this could well be the year that Kirby finally gets to celebrate a Natty. Seriously.
Just stop with that vapid inaness young man, trolls are watching…
Have you ever made a worthwhile comment or observation? Ever?
I just can’t get past how ironic it is that you and your brother ozarkianboi don’t get along…both of you are so similar. Why even both of your ratings on my give a shttt what you think meter are equivalent …a big fat zero
Burks is the real deal. Hard to tell which one is really better at this point, but I would say Burks but that’s obviously biased. How bout we meet in the SEC championship and find out?
Burks certainly is a stud
Since I don’t have a dog in the hunt I enjoyed the article. Using stats to prove who is the better receiver is unfair. Being 1 of 4 excellent receivers will hurt your stats while being the man will build them. At the end of the season neither may be WR1.
Could be Kayshon Boutte. After Terrace Marshall opted out, Boutte caught 27 passes for 527 yards and 4 TDs in the last three weeks of the season. Just saying, if you project that over a full season it’s light-years ahead of Burks or Pickens.
Boutte certainly deserves to be mentioned in this conversation.
Bout the eh? Sounds like an unbiased addition for sure, lol. He’s pretty darn good
Boutte eh^…this autocorrect has to be a Russian invention dmmmit
Are you calling me a homer??
No,but I’m a homer.
Lol good. Me too, and humper knows it.
Yo homer, if the shoe fits, wear it with pride… if it doesn’t go see Marco!
You ain’t a true Sec fan if you ain’t homering…
Hahaha I see what you did there humpy lol…I’m so glad the “Shoe Incident” happened we’re gonna keep seeing it referenced for years to come. Such joy…
Homer J. Tiger
Treylon Burks and George Pickens are both great WRs. Im not a fan of cherry picking stats to make one seem better than the other. Both are worthy of the praise their getting and just happy we have a competent passing game lol.
Fully agree with this take and I suspect a few more will emerge next year across the SEC.
Yea. Have to assume Bama will have someone up there.
Ok…?
I don’t think any of us were really banging a drum for Pickens to be crowned the preseason Biletnikoff Award winner.
If the passing offense performs like we’d hope it could then I doubt Pickens would be eating up most of the targets. Burks might be a more well rounded receiver, too.
Don’t sleep on John Metchie Jr. or Xavier Henderson, though.
If the offense performs as designed under Todd, not having George lead the league in yards/catches/TDs would not necessarily be a bad thing. Distributing the ball around is key, and there is a multitude of proven skill guys to give DCs nightmares.
The thing I liked best about Jake Fromm was his ability to spread the touches as well as any QB in CFB. JT seems to be inclined similarly.
When you can line up the amount of talent UGA has on its offensive two-deep, the mis-match potential is frightening if the guy under center can deliver the ball. And that’s what made Georgia a totally different team once JT took over. It wasn’t just that there was a QB with an arm now in the game – it was that the match-ups everywhere else suddenly became real on every single play, and tilted heavily in the Dawgs’ favor. Todd Monken knows this, and I would expect more of the same type of ball distribution in 2021 that we saw the final 4 games of 2020.
They both look great to me, and I think trying to pick one over the other is pretty tough. I’ll take either, thank you very much. I liked the highlights!
If I put my Homer hat on, I’m looking forward to seeing what Boutte looks like next year also. It occurs to me that suddenly, the SEC is putting out lots of great WRs.
Yep, no doubt. The SEC is transitioning full Monty into the Big12, only SUPERSIZED…once this transformation is complete it will become a league of happy offenses and the team with enough defense to occasionally slow down the other teams win…I’m going to miss old school smash mouth football!
Looking back, it’s funny how we used to make fun of the Big12.
Boutte will win the Biletnikoff book it!
This article is 9 hours old and no king negan rambling on and on and writing a bible? Someone needs to check in on him.
Oh man! That is a funny comment. And yes I laughed.
Hes fixing his cap lock key
He’s fixing it TO BE ON ALL THE TIME!
What a loss. I always expected to find out who he is by watching America’s Most Wanted.
“….and who, seemingly fittingly, signed all of his epic, outlandish, mostly-caps posts as ‘King Negan'”
Now that’s funny!
Burks hunts feral hogs using only a Bowie knife and his hands.
Good Lord! That’s a scary man right there.
It’s neither.
Jermaine Burton will be the best WR in the SEC in 2021.
I hope not! That boy has some bad karma coming.
Why?
Does anyone at all give a flying spit what this writer says? He is among the worst and would not have made the cut with my HS newspaper.
in the conversation yall.
Both are studs and the main question will be who will be the most productive. This will be more about the offensive scheme and personnel around them. KJ Jefferson/Burks had a great game against Mizzou because we were running the ball well, and getting one on one coverage. If we can do that consistently next year, expect a big year from Burks. If not, I don’t think KJ has the arm talent to match production from UGA and Pickens.
Pickens is good. Great? Maybe. But not yet. This is his last season at Georgia, and has he exceeded my expectations for him? No. He’s a good receiver. Not great yet. Burks will be better. He’s just better in my opinion. Am I gonna get blasted by Georgia fans now? Yeah. Just how they are.
Yep, it’s the off-season. All hypothetical. Guess what? I don’t care. There is only one ball on the field at a time and Georgia has a lot of options. That will work for and against Pickens this year. Arkansas is breaking in a new QB with fewer offensive options.
That means more balls his way, but also more doubles than Pickens should see this year. Burks could be the best receiver in the SEC, but have stats at 4th or 5th, because teams will work to take away Arkansas’s biggest threat. He will struggle in Tuscaloosa, he’ll struggle in Athens. Will depend what he does against other teams.
Either way, it looks like both receivers are NFL bound and that’s there real goal with these kids. And that is where you find out just how good they are.
Will wait for the best QB in the SEC article to comet next. After-all, it is the off-season.