While the Colts stood pat Thursday night, there were some major shakeups around the AFC South – and the headline wasn't necessarily about the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans adding hyper-talented players with the Nos. 1 and 3 picks in the draft.
Because A.J. Brown is out of the division.
The Tennessee Titans traded the 24-year-old wide receiver – who has 185 catches, 2,995 yards and 24 touchdowns in his three seasons – to the Eagles in exchange for the 18th overall pick and Philadelphia's 2022 third-round pick. With the 18th pick, the Titans drafted Arkansas wide receiver Treylon Burks – who was the sixth receiver drafted at that point on Thursday.
Brown, in six career games against the Colts, caught 21 passes for 344 yards (16.3 yards/reception) with two touchdowns; his 57-yard touchdown in Week 8 of the 2021 season was a turning point in what ultimately was a 34-31 Titans overtime win.
Interestingly, the guy the Titans drafted to replace A.J. Brown has drawn some comparisons to...A.J. Brown. From NFL.com's profile of Burks:
"Big, smooth and natural, Burks possesses the versatility to operate from wherever you want and get to wherever you need no matter the competition. 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. The tape is extremely exciting with real NFL skills jumping off the screen, but his potential to become a high-volume, three-level target is a little more cloudy after a relatively disappointing showing at the combine."
And the Brown trade wasn't an isolated thing on Thursday – the Baltimore Ravens traded wide receiver Hollywood Brown and the No. 100 pick to the Arizona Cardinals for the No. 23 pick, too. Also: Six wide receivers were drafted in the first 18 picks:
- Drake London (8th, Falcons)
- Garrett Wilson (10th, Jets)
- Chris Olave (11th, Saints)
- Jameson Williams (12th, Lions)
- Jahan Dotson (16th, Commanders)
- Treylon Burks (18th, Titans)
The Saints and Lions traded up for Olave and Williams, too. Dotson was mocked to the Colts at No. 42 by a couple of draft analysts.
Elsewhere in the AFC South, the Jacksonville Jaguars drafted Georgia edge rusher Travon Walker with the No. 1 overall pick, while the Houston Texans snagged LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. and Texas A&M guard Kenyon Green with the Nos. 3 and 15 selections, too. The Jaguars later traded back in to the first round and drafted Utah linebacker Devin Lloyd with the 27th overall pick.
The Titans traded the 26th overall pick, along with pick No. 101, to the New York Jets for the Nos. 35, 69 and 163 picks.
Check out a list of the top players available entering Day 2 of the draft, as ranked by NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah and The Athletic's Dane Brugler.
