Former Gators WR's NFL Rookie Season Earning High Praise

The former Florida Gators wide receiver has been standing out in the earlier games of his rookie season with the Titans

Chimere Dike has been one of the more impressive Gators rookies in the NFL so far | Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Through the first two games of the 2025 NFL season, one former Florida Gators wide receiver is already starting to earn recognition for his contributions on special teams.

Chimere Dike entered the season as the Tennessee Titans’ primary return, and he already ranks among the league’s top players at the position

After Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams, Titans special team coordinator John Fassel expressed his pleasure with Dike’s early impact this season.

“He has been excellent. He’s provided two big sparks in the return game. And I’m not surprised, but for a young guy to have that poise has been really good,” Fassel said. “I think he’s handled it really good. And I don’t see any reason why that’s going to be any different than what’s going to happen in the future. I think it’s just going to get better and better and better. And he probably has exceeded my expectations through two weeks for sure.”

Entering Week 3, Dike currently has the fourth-most kick return yards (227) in the NFL while also averaging the third-most yards (16.3) per punt return. He burst onto the season in Week 1, with a 71-yard kick return against the Denver Broncos (second-longest in the NFL this season).

Former Florida Gators WR Chimere Dike with a 71-yard kick return pic.twitter.com/m1XgKBklGQ

— Tyler Carmona (@TylerCarmona) September 7, 2025

After turning heads at the 2025 NFL Combine after running a blazing 4.34 second 40-yard dash and tallying a 38.5’ inch vertical jump, the Titans selected Dike in the fourth round with the 103rd overall pick in the draft.

Rams kicker Joshua Carty is one of the league’s top kickoff specialists, known for his pin-point accuracy and favorable ball placement, but Fassel was impressed with Dike’s ability to track down all of Carty’s kicks.

“There’s not many people at all that could handle those kicks, even if I had two or three or four returners back there, like those are tough balls,” Fassel said. “So his poise was very good and all this stuff is really good learning for him. But we told the guys in the meeting room Monday, we got one.”

During his time at Florida, Dike served as the Gators’ primary punt returner while leading the SEC with 16.50 yards per return.

While he has not earned many snaps at receiver with the Titans, he led the Gators with 42 receptions last year while totaling 783 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

It may be early in his career, but Dike is already carving out a reputation for being a reliable and explosive returner.