Evaluating Elic Ayomanor's Rookie Season with the Tennessee Titans

Elic Ayomanor will have a long career if he keeps this up.

Tennessee Titans wide receiver Elic Ayomanor (5) celebrates his touchdown during the second quarter against the New Orleans Saints at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. | Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

That's a wrap on Elic Ayomanor's rookie season. After 18 weeks and 17 games, the former Stanford football wide receiver and current Tennessee Titans standout can call himself an NFL veteran ahead of year two, where he will look to become an even bigger part of the Titan's offense. After all, a promising rookie season from Ayomanor has him on track to break out even more in 2026.

Ending his rookie season with 41 catches for 515 yards and four touchdowns on a Titans teams that only won three games, Ayomanor established himself as a big time weapon for rookie quarterback Cam Ward.

Originally expected to play a limited role to start the season as he grew and developed, a strong preseason earned Ayomanor a starting job and after the Titans released Tyler Lockett early in the year, Ayomanor was able to take on an even bigger role. By the end of the regular season, Ayomanor was listed as a starting outside receiver, along with fellow rookie Chimere Dike.

Ayomanor did not record a 100-yard game this season, but he did have some moments that showed why the Titans were smart to draft him in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

In a 33-19 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Ayomanor caught four passes for 56 yards and scored his first ever NFL touchdown. The following week, Ayomanor scored a touchdown for the consecutive game, catching four passes for 38 yards in a 38-20 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

Throughout the course of the season, the biggest issue plaguing the Titans was conincidentally the same issue that had prevented Ayomanor from reaching his true potential at Stanford, which was the poor, inconsistent play from the offense.

Firing head coach Brian Callahan midway through the season, the first four weeks of the season saw the Titans put up a league worst deficit of 51 points scored compared to 120 points allowed, which included a 26-0 shutout loss to the Houston Texans in week four.

For the season, the Titans finished as the No. 31 offense in the entire league, finishing ahead of only the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders ended up earning the top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft with the season they had, finishing with the same 3-14 record as Tennessee.

2026 will be a very big year for the Titans, even if it means major struggles. Expected to bring in a new head coach to right the ship, the Titans have a very young team that has all the potential in the world to achieve success. Having a guy like Ayomanor helps, but if he is able to return to being the receiver he was at Stanford, expect big things to come to Nashville.