Former Gators WR Chimere Dike Lands High NFL Honor to Cap off Rookie Year

The former Florida Gators wide receiver made waves as a punt returner for the Tennessee Titans out of the gate

Tennessee Titans wide receiver Chimere Dike made the Florida Gators proud out of the gate in the NFL | Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A former Florida Gators wide receiver gets a nice bow put on top of his big rookie campaign in the NFL. Tennessee Titans wide receiver and punt returner Chimere Dike was named a First Team All-Pro by the Associated Press on Saturday.

Chim is HIM!@chimdk11 is an @AP First-Team All-Pro as a rookie 🤩 pic.twitter.com/qndtlUABu3

— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) January 10, 2026

He specifically received the honor as a punt returner, and for good reason. He averaged 17.3 yards per return and returned punts a total of 398 yards on 23 returns. He led the the league with two punt returns for touchdowns, one of which was a league-leading 90-yard return.

For good measure, he averaged 25.6 yards per kick return for a total of 1,588 yards on 62 returns. His season-best in this scenario was 71 yards. As a wide receiver, he tallied 423 yards and four touchdowns. From the ground, he tops his total all-purpose yards off with 18 yards.

All this added up to him setting a rookie record for all-purpose yards (2,427), breaking a record that had stood since Hall of Fame wide receiver Tim Brown set the previous mark in 1988 (2,317). Like at Florida, he wasted no time carving out a key role for himself and making a strong impact on special teams and on offense.

Dike spent his fifth and final season with the Gators after four years at Wisconsin. He was teammates with quarterback Graham Mertz for four of those seasons, three in Madison and one in Gainesville. It gave them the chance to have a reunion, even after Mertz went down with a season-ending ACL injury. Mertz is now with the Houston Texans.

During his one season at Florida, Dike tallied a career high 783 receiving yards and averaged a career-best 18.6 yards per reception. He returned 14 punts and kicks for 187 yards, bringing his all-purpose yards total to 970 yards in 13 games. Naturally, those all-purpose yards were his career best in college.

The Titans took a flyer on him during the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. They got an immediate return on their investment. Dike didn't just match his success at Florida or Wisconsin. He blew it out of the water.