Titans' Second-Year WR Proved Readiness For Starting Role in Seahawks Joint Practice

Most of the noise around the Tennessee Titans roster right now is surrounding who will be cut by the end of this month. That's rightful to some extent, given the proximity of the Aug. 30 cut day and just how many questions remain between the lines regarding Tennessee's eventual 53-man core.

What is becoming less of a question every day, however, is that Elic Ayomanor is worthy of starting for the Titans. It's almost certain that Calvin Ridley will have claim to that role behind Wan'Dale Robinson and Carnell Tate to start the year, but much like Tyjae Spears being primed to take over from Tony Pollard, Ayomanor is tracking to ascend into that role by the end of the year.

Want evidence? Look no further than Ayomanor's strong camp this summer, most recently in Tennessee's joint practice with the Seattle Seahawks just yesterday. Ayomanor came down with a score on the first drive from Ward, prompting a popular clip on the Titans' X account.

That TD catch 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/O0qogouZHT
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) August 21, 2026

He was the beneficiary of one of Ward's two scoring passed on the day. Beyond Ayomanor's penchant for making wild catches in camp, though, is a mindset that reflects his willingness to earn a bigger role in Tennessee. It's traits like those that make all the difference.

Elic Ayomanor Has a Starter's Mindset in Tennessee

After Wednesday's team practice earlier this week, Ayomanor stated that he understood what it takes to earn his quarterback's trust, citing winning more than his share of 50/50 balls as a method. He's a second-year receiver being thrown into a completely new system this year.

It's no easy assignment to succeed in those circumstances. Yet looking back to last season, even under the waning moon of the Brian Callahan era, Ayomanor more than carved out his own unique role.

He did so in 16 games ahead of his direct competitor's seven, from Ridley.

Ayomanor is Already Outpacing Ridley

In fairness to Ridley, he missed nine games due to a hamstring injury that was closely followed by a broken fibula. The latter ended his season in week 11. It's not Ridley's fault that he was kept at bay by nagging health issues. He was 30 (now 31) in an offense that tried to ask a lot of him last year, after all.

That's also part of the argument with Ayomanor, and that's just how it is. While Ridley failed to pull in a touchdown in his limited clock, Ayomanor tallied four scores in his rookie season. That's the same number that Ridley collected in his first run with the Titans, now two years ago.

As Tennessee only gets younger with Robert Saleh's rebuild, particularly at the WR position, Ayomanor appears destined to climb, and climb fast. If he can bury his zero-catch outing from last week tomorrow vs. the Seahawks, we may be having the starter conversation sooner than anyone expected.

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