Washington Commanders wide receiver Treylon Burks has spent much of his adult life in the spotlight. The 2022 first-round pick finds his peace somewhere quieter: in the outdoors.
Raised in Warren, Arkansas, Burks grew up fishing with his great-grandfather before friends introduced him to whitetail hunting. He now hunts with both bow and rifle, with duck and hog hunting among his favorite pursuits.
In this Hook & Barrel interview, the 26-year-old talks about the tree he hit on his first crossbow hunt, the 12-point buck that got away, his dream of owning a hunting lodge and whether he would trade his one-handed touchdown catch against the Denver Broncos for another shot at that buck.
Treylon Burks: NFL Star and Outdoorsman
- Burks grew up fishing with his great-grandfather and took his first deer during muzzleloader season after hitting a tree on his first crossbow hunt.
- He hunts with both bow and rifle, names duck and hog hunting as his favorites and has a Saskatchewan whitetail, blackbuck, elk and grizzly on his bucket list.
- Burks sees the same patience, timing and discipline in hunting and football, and dreams of introducing his daughters to the outdoors and eventually owning a hunting lodge.
How Treylon Burks Got Into Hunting
Hook & Barrel: Everybody has a hunting origin story. So, where did you grow up, how did you get into hunting, has the outdoors always been part of your life?
Treylon Burks: “I would say I grew up in like southeast Arkansas, a place called Warren, Arkansas. And you know, my great grandfather, he was always in the outdoors.
“He had gardens, he had chickens and stuff like that. And fishing was like … fishing is still one of my favorite things to do.
“But you know, going out through school and stuff, I had a couple friends that did a lot of whitetail hunting and I hung out with them a lot.
“And then I had the opportunity to go with one of my buddies. The first time we were crossbow hunting, it was during bow season. Okay, and we were crossbow hunting, and his dad was just like, ‘Hey, shoot that doe right there.’
Treylon Burks’ NFL Career at a Glance
| Field | Detail |
| Current team | Washington Commanders |
| Position | Wide receiver, No. 13 |
| College | Arkansas |
| Draft | Tennessee Titans, 2022 first round, No. 18 overall |
| Career through 2025 | 63 receptions, 829 receiving yards, two receiving touchdowns |
“And so I shot, and I saw it run off. And I looked at him and he was just smiling and laughing.
“And I was like, ‘What, did I miss?’
“And he was like, ‘look a little harder at that tree right there in front of you.’
“And so I ended up shooting a tree right in front of me. And the arrow and the Lumenok was just glowing right there on the tree!
“That was one experience. And then a couple weeks later, muzzleloading season came around and I got my first deer with them. From there on out I've loved being in the outdoors.
“I actually find great peace in it.
“I feel like it's good to connect with nature and just see how our animals that the good Lord bless us with how their natural habitat actually is.
“And I just find it pretty cool, man. I’ve got two little girls, beautiful little girls, and hopefully one day the good Lord blesses me to introduce them into the outdoors and hopefully they like it and are able to go with me once I'm retired from football and just hunting and fishing all the time.”
H&B: When you retire, do you intend to stay in the game or do you think you'll spend most of your time in the outdoors, hunting and fishing?
TB: “Honestly, that's a hard question because, I mean, I love football.
“I think honestly, for me, I'm just going to go with, you know, what God places on my heart and pursue it that way.
“But I definitely will be hunting and fishing majority of the time for sure.”
Bowhunting, Duck Hunting and Hog Hunting
H&B: What do you think you spend most of your time hunting and what's your favorite season or preferred hunting in terms of gear? Do you still use a bow or is it more sort of rifle shooting that you do now?
TB: “I use both. It just depends, you know, I find it pretty intense when you bow hunt just because you feel like you're right there with them. And then honestly, it's kind of intense shooting a bow and arrow and holding it steady and hitting your target right on the mark. So you don't wound the animal and have them running out there hurt or whatever.
“But sometimes I will pull out my rifle when one of those big bucks is acting stubborn. He won't come in all the way in bow range and I'll get him like that.
“So, it just differs, but honestly, for me, my favorite type of hunting. Well, I have two. It’s really probably duck hunting and hog hunting. I'm a big boar hunter.
“I love boar hunting with dogs. I mean, I've been doing that for a long time and I find that pretty intense.”
Treylon Burks’ Hunting Bucket List
H&B: A lot of people, once they discover hunting and the outdoors, they stick to the same thing. You've obviously got quite a bit experience, but is there anything that you haven't hunted yet that you would like to or have you got a bucket list?
TB: “I really want to go to Saskatchewan and hunt. That's on my bucket list for sure, to kill a whitetail out there, a black buck or a big elk.
“I feel kind of crazy about it, but I really want to kill a big grizzly. Have it mounted in the house. Yeah, I think that'll be cool. Be a cool mount to have over the balcony of the staircase in my house just hanging down.”
H&B: During the season, do you get to go hunting much, or is it pretty much off season that you're confined to?
TB: “Honestly, during the season, I tend to just focus on ball, Put my all into, my craft with that.
“But when it when it comes post season, you know, we pray that we make it to the Super Bowl, we make it to the playoffs and all of that.
“During the off season, that's when I'll take my time and do the majority of my hunting.
“The past three to four years, I really haven't got to whitetail hunt just because it ends up being around in the middle of November and in October, and that's during football season. And so I'll try to catch like early bow season, velvet hunt or something like that.”
The 12-Point Buck That Got Away
H&B: You said that your first hunt didn't quite go to plan in that all you hit was a tree, but have you got any stories about the one that got away?
TB: “Actually it was last year or year before last, I was actually bow hunting. Me and my buddy, one of my buddies, his name is Chris Hunt, and he put me up in a bean field.
“It was probably, you know, 20, 30 acre bean field. And he had showed me this, it was like two or three good bucks that were using that bean field every afternoon.
“And so I was sitting up in a tree and was on my phone. I was actually on my phone playing a hunting game and I heard something coming from behind me. And so I kind of just like eased my phone down and just sat there quiet and was just listening.
“And something just told me to look to my right.
“And it was, honestly, a pretty nice 10 point that had walked up on me. And he was one of the shooter bucks that he wanted me to kill.
“He was probably 15, 20 yards away in perfect bow range for me. And so I went to grab my bow and drew back. And when I drew back, he kind of looked up there at me, got a little spooked and like trotted off maybe 10, 15 more yards.
“So he was probably at like 35 yards, which I was comfortable at, shooting a 45 yard shot with my bow. So I drew back and when I drew back, I had the pin right on him.
“As soon as I was fixed and getting ready to release, he just ran off and he ran off to the top of the field. And after that I didn't see him no more.
“I had two or three days left to hunt and so I hunted him pretty hard, but never got another shot at him.
“So, yeah, that was one that, you know, I really wanted. He was a good buck, too. And we actually just got new pictures of him this year. He's a 12 point and he looks pretty. He's a good buck.
“So hopefully this offseason, if we don't make it to the playoffs or anything like that, I can get back out there and get on him.”
What Hunting and Football Have in Common
H&B: There are fine margins playing football and it's split seconds in terms of timing and that perfect moment. And sometimes it comes off, sometimes it doesn't come off. Just like hunting?
TB: “Exactly.”
H&B: And being disciplined, in control and calm under pressure.
TB: “Yeah. Honestly, I, I really think that, hunting does have its similarities with my sport of playing football.
“Just because of having patience, and knowing when your time is coming and just being ready for that opportunity when it does present itself.
“And then also being, savvy, just knowing like they know that you're there, they just don't know where you're at. And that's the same with football.
“Like the defense, they know exactly, what play may be coming. But as long as you execute it with the fine details that you worked out with throughout the week before the game prep and, sometimes, you get your chance and you execute and you get your trophy.”
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H&B: Obviously you had THAT catch last season against the Broncos.
TB: “Yes, sir.”
H&B: If you had a chance to make that catch again or to bag that 12 point buck. What are you taking? You can choose one or the other.
TB: “That's a hard one, man. I'm. I'm not gonna lie. I'm gonna have to go with, you know, making that catch.
“For my teammates. It's just something about football, man, that it's. It's different, and then also just being out there with your brothers, seeing your brothers succeed and getting the things that they get and want and just seeing how hard everybody works on your team and then go out there and get a win or, you know, make a play or whatever that is, it just, it brings joy to me and my teammates and I'm just extremely happy to be able to play this game.”
H&B: Do you ever go out hunting with any of your teammates or any other NFL players?
TB: “No, I haven't really, you know, met anybody just as country as me. But I talk to my boys all the time about it and, hopefully, can get some of them out there and hunt with me and, you share their experience with them. I think it'll be real cool and they'll like it for sure.”
Treylon Burks’ Dream Hunting Lodge
H&B: We spoke about retirement. Is there anywhere that you would like to live or to move to when you retire?
TB: “Yeah, yeah, that's one of my big dreams, honestly. I work hard for my family and my last name and for my teammates and hopefully someday, the good Lord blesses me to own a business, own a lodge and just be able to bring people that have never been able to have that experience of hunting.
“Giving them the opportunity to just go out there and just feel what it really feels like to be out there in the outdoors and enjoy the life that God has blessed us with.
“And, I take that really serious because, sometimes, we take things for granted and don't really realize the good things that God has placed in our lives.
“One thing, I really take hunting as serious because sitting out there in nature and, by yourself, your mind wanders, you think while you're sitting up in a tree stand or in a box fan and you sit there and you think about all the things that you wish you could have done or you wish you had, but just being in that, being in the present, at that moment is just a blessing from God.”
H&B: Do you know how to process your own animals after a successful hunt?
TB: “Yes, sir, I do that. I do that all myself. I know how to process a deer, field dress or I can bring them back home and clean them out at the house in the garage or whatever like that.
“That's something that my friend’s dad has taught me, my grandfather taught me. Just sitting back and watching the older people do it and just learning and observing instead of just running around being a hoodlum!”
