Titans Rookie WRs Can Have Early Impact

The Tennessee Titans could rely on some rookies at wide receiver this season.

Florida Gators wide receiver Chimere Dike makes a catch against the Mississippi Rebels. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

The Tennessee Titans knew they needed to get some players to complement No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward.

Ward will be the team's new quarterback, and every signal caller needs receivers to throw to.

In the fourth round, the Titans double dipped on the position, taking Florida's Chimere Dike with the first pick on Day 3, but they also traded back to get Stanford's Elic Ayomanor.

ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. likes what the Titans did with the pair of picks at wide receiver in the fourth round of the draft.

"The roster lacked legitimate pass catchers behind Calvin Ridley, even after signing Tyler Lockett this week. It's not for a lack of trying: The Titans had drafted six WRs in the past four drafts. Nothing worked, but the stakes are higher with Ward under center," Kiper wrote.

"And because the Titans traded back from No. 35, they had to fish for impact receivers later in the draft. They took Chimere Dike at No. 103, but the pick I really liked at the position is Elic Ayomanor at No. 136. He was 79th on my Big Board. Ayomanor makes contested catches (34 over the past two seasons) and hauls in the deep ball."

The Titans have Ridley, Lockett, Treylon Burks and Van Jefferson as the top four receivers on the depth chart. However, Burks has an injury that could prevent him from playing at the beginning of the season, and Jefferson didn't crack 300 yards last year with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

There will be opportunities for Dike and Ayomanor to contribute both on special teams and offense, and this will be a training camp battle that should have a lot of intrigue for the Titans going into the season.

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