What will Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson do without receiver Treylon Burks in 2022?

The passing game was the story for both Arkansas and Alabama in its 42-35 loss in Tuscaloosa on Saturday. KJ Jefferson's 326 passing yards matched his second-most against a conference opponent this year, but Alabama quarterback Bryce Young set a new Crimson Tide record with 559 yards through the air.

Jefferson found Treylon Burks for more than half of those passing yards, plus two touchdowns. Burks has, of course, been stellar all year. That brings us to today's mailbag.

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How much do you think Jefferson will miss his number one weapon next year while Burks is in the league? Do you think he will continue to improve as a passer, or will his numbers take a slight step back? — Cory

Jefferson's talent can stand on its own to an extent. His size and his ability to evade sacks and still make a difficult throw has been impressive, particularly in the last two games. But every quarterback needs talented pieces around him, and there's no doubt that replacing Burks, assuming he's done after his junior year this season, will be a challenge for Arkansas in 2022.

The other starting wide receiver, De'Vion Warren, is a senior. The receivers behind Warren and Burks on the depth chart versus Alabama were Jaquayln Crawford and Warren Thompson.

Crawford, a transfer from Oklahoma, hasn't seen much game action as a college receiver. He's appeared in seven games and caught three passes this year. He was a four-star recruit out of Rockdale, Texas, in the class of 2018. He's untested, but depending how much stock you put into recruiting rankings and stars, he has promise.

Thompson, on the other hand, is more experienced. The redshirt junior transferred from Florida State and is in his first year with Arkansas. He's played in 11 games and caught 18 passes. He nearly had a touchdown against Alabama on a 41-yard pass, but he was ruled down at the 1 after review.

Junior Trey Knox is another experienced wideout that could step into a bigger role. Like Thompson, he's played in 11 games, but he hasn't been as frequent a target, with most of his catches coming in the last few weeks of the season.

In short, replacing Burks is going to be hard. But Arkansas isn't without talent at receiver; we just haven't seen many other wideouts dazzle the way Burks does. Jefferson will continue using his legs to keep plays alive and make throws you think he won't. He just might have to spread those throws around a little more, and Arkansas will need to develop its less frequently utilized players out wide.

Christina Long covers the Arkansas Razorbacks. You can email her at clong@swtimes.com or follow her on Twitter @christinalong00.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: What will Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson do without Treylon Burks?