Titans TE on Pace For Best Season Yet

The Tennessee Titans should get the best version of their top tight end.

Tennessee Titans tight end Chig Okonkwo snaps his chin straps during an NFL football minicamp. | Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Tennessee Titans are going into the upcoming season with Chig Okonkwo as their top tight end on the depth chart.

Okonkwo, 25, started 11 games for the Titans last season and emerged as one of the top targets in the offense. Only Calvin Ridley and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine had more receiving yards than Okonkwo.

Team reporter Jim Wyatt thinks more could be on the horizon for Okonkwo.

"Heading into his fourth NFL season, Okonkwo is poised to have the best season of his career. He now has valuable experience, and he'll enter the year with momentum after finishing the 2024 season on a roll, with 22 catches in a three-game stretch in the final month of the season," Wyatt wrote.

"Okonkwo finished the year third on the team with 52 catches for 479 yards and two scores. The Titans are counting on big this from Okonkwo after a solid offseason, when I charted him with a team-high 13 catches during the five open practices."

It's a big year for Okonkwo as he enters the final season of his rookie contract. The Titans drafted Gunnar Helm out of Texas in the fourth round of this year's draft, so he is expected to be the replacement for Okonkwo if he performs well in his rookie year.

While Helm has the opportunity to be Okonkwo's successor, he isn't ready yet. Okonkwo should be the team's starting tight end, and there's hope that his output could improve with new quarterback Cam Ward throwing to him.

If Okonkwo shines and has his best season yet, he could re-negotiate a new deal with the Titans and become the team's tight end in the long run.

Okonkwo and the Titans are scheduled to report for training camp on July 22.

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