NASHVILLE — Treylon Burks knows it's a marathon, not a sprint.
But the first-round pick sure did get out of the starting gate well on the first day of Titans training camp.
On the second play of the initial 7-on-7 period, Burks raced past defensive back Kristian Fulton before making a diving catch on a deep ball thrown by quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
It was a nice start on a day Burks also finished in style.
"I feel a lot different, and I feel a lot healthier," Burks said after practice. "It just makes me feel good that I can come out here and play a role, and be a part of this team."
Burks, who was the subject of a lot of chatter this offseason because of issues with his asthma, and conditioning, said he's been working out and taking better care of his body since the end of the team's offseason program in June.
On Wednesday, he said he's probably lost 5-6 pounds in recent weeks.
Burks said he feels like the running he's done of late helped him with his conditioning, and his asthma.
"Putting myself in situations where I knew my asthma would flare up," Burks said, "and just be able to push through it. … Honestly, I just (need to) keep conditioning where I don't feel it no more, making sure I am taking my inhaler before practice, after practice, just staying on top of everything."
Burks acknowledged he could have done a better job with handling some things after being selected by the Titans with the 18th overall pick.
Burks was limited in the OTAs, and then held out of the minicamp.
"I would say yes," Burks said. "That's just being accountable, and I should have taken a better attack on that. Now that I am, I can tell a big difference."
After his diving catch early, Burks caught two more passes Wednesday, one on a well-timed throw from Tannehill before a bullet in the middle of the field on a ball thrown by Logan Woodside.
"It's nice to have Treylon out there," Tannehill said. "He has a long way to go, but him making plays like (he did today) does a lot for building confidence for a quarterback, for myself, and just knowing what you are going to get over there. If he wins consistently and makes plays like that for me down the field, it gives you a lot of confidence to go his direction."
Burks, who is wearing his old college number (16) in Tennessee, caught 66 passes for 1,104 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Razorbacks in 2021 to earn first-team All-SEC honors.
In 2020, Burks led the Razorbacks with 51 catches, 820 yards (16.1 ypc) and seven touchdowns.
In the NFL, he wants to do his part with the Titans.
"I am just playing my role," Burks said. "I am just going to attack every opportunity that I get, and I am going to attack it to the best of my ability. There's still things that I can improve on. I just want to improve and make our team better as well."
