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Titans' Elic Ayomanor Leads League In Unfortunate Stat

Unfortunately for Tennessee Titans rookie wide receiver Elic Ayomanor, he leads the league in a stat no one wants to see their name attached to.
Jordon Lawrenz|
Nov 2, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Titans wide receiver Elic Ayomanor (5) runs with the ball after a made catch against the Los Angeles Chargers during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
Nov 2, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Titans wide receiver Elic Ayomanor (5) runs with the ball after a made catch against the Los Angeles Chargers during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

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Tennessee Titans

Things haven't been easy for Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback Cam Ward this season. With a wide receiver requesting his release and his No. 1 option at the position going down with an injury, this offense has had to rely on rookies.

One of those rookies is 22-year-old Elic Ayomanor. The Stanford graduate had 1,844 career receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. Coming out of college, drops were an issue. Translating to the NFL, it's safe to say not much has changed.

That's not to say Ayomanor is a bad player, but it's hard to make a case for him as Ward's WR1 with him leading the league in drop rate. Ayomanor's 20% is the highest of any player with at least 50 targets.

Elic Ayomanor's Unfortunate Drop Rate

When looking at this next number, it's important to consider what's a drop and what was a simple throwaway or bad throw by the quarterback. Ayomanor leads the Titans with 67 targets, which is 12 more than the next highest player. Keep in mind, Ayomanor has just 30 receptions. Chimere Dike, who has 55 targets, has 34 receptions on the year.

Ayomanor's 20% drop rate means one of every five passes coming his way is a simple drop. Defenses have been all over the rookie as they know he's one of, if not Ward's favorite target, but Ayomanor hasn't quite shown he has what it takes to succeed in the NFL.

It's still far too early in his career to pull the plug on Ayomanor, but that drop rate is far from ideal. He's the only player with that number at 20% or higher, but at least for him it was Van Jefferson who got put on blast for his drop against the Cleveland Browns. That said, drops are still a major issue for the former Cardinal.

Cam Ward Needs Reliable Targets

Thankfully for Tennessee, they're not at a point where they have to decide if Ayomanor is worth WR1 money. It's clear he wouldn't be this high on the depth chart for nearly every other team, but these are the cards Ward has been dealt in Tennessee.

If Ridley is back next year, that takes a huge weight off Ayomanor's shoulders. He's still in his first year, so it's going to take time to develop and translate to the NFL. All of that said, Ayomanor is tied for first with three touchdowns and is second on the team with 353 receiving yards.

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Jordon Lawrenz
JORDON LAWRENZ

Jordon Lawrenz serves as the Eastern United States College Recruiting beat writer On SI. Jordon is an accomplished writer covering the NFL, MLB, and college football/basketball. He has contributed to PFSN’s and Heavy’s NFL coverage. Having graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay with a Sports Communication and Journalism degree, Jordon fully embraced the sports writing lifestyle upon his relocation to Florida.

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