The Tennessee Titans‘ voluntary OTAs start on Tuesday, May 27th. With a 3-14 record in 2024, the Titans are looking to be more competitive this year, especially with the addition of No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward. With about 30% of the 90-man roster being new, including Ward, how long will it take this team to gel?
One of the Titans’ biggest opportunities for improvement is their wide receiver room. Calvin Ridley did finish with 1,017 yards, but there wasn’t another receiver over 500 yards. Their lack of speed and separation made their subpar quarterback situation even worse. With trades and draft capital spent to upgrade this group, below is a look at their current options.
Ridley started the 2024 season off a bit slow. He and QB Will Levis were clearly not on the same page. Even when they were, Ridley was uncharacteristically inconsistent and dropped several passes. The perfect example of this was the Week 6 loss to rival Indianapolis, where he was targeted eight times with zero receptions.
Things turned around a few weeks later in Week 8 against the Lions. The Titans lost the game, but Ridley had ten receptions for 143 yards. He was more reliable down the stretch, but still only managed to have four TD receptions for the year.
The Titans are banking on the connection between Ward and Ridley to mature quickly. If they are going to more than double their win total from last year, Ridley has to be a thousand-yard receiver again, but produce more in the Red Zone.
Tyler Lockett, Van Jefferson, and James Proche II joined the Titans this year as free agents. None are expected to be a No. 2, but Lockett provides veteran leadership.
Lockett had a solid year with Seattle last year, catching 49 passes for 600 yards. The 32-year-old receiver brings veteran know-how and can provide meaningful snaps in the slot position. He’s a solid lock to make the team, but he might lose out on snaps toward the end of the year if the rookies improve quickly.
On the contrary, Jefferson will have to work to make this squad. The Brentwood, Tennessee, native makes a return home, but his production has been subpar for the last several years. His best year was 2021 with the Rams, where he put up 802 yards, but he’s only topped 300 yards one year since. He will likely be beaten out by a rookie with a higher upside at the end of training camp.
The same goes for the SMU product Proche II. The Texas native has only 299 yards receiving in his five years in the NFL.
The Titans’ receiving room needed an upgrade this year, partly because of the younger holdovers from last year. This group was barely serviceable, and likely won’t be part of the Titans’ plans this year past training camp.
Every Titans fan has wished Treylon Burks had the breakout year promised when he was drafted in the first round of the 2022 draft. Since then, he’s produced only 699 yards and one touchdown while never playing more than 11 games in a season. If he has a great training camp, maybe the Titans will give him one last look, but it’s doubtful. Injuries and drops have plagued him since he entered the NFL.
Bryce Oliver is a name to keep an eye on during OTAs. Oliver showed promise over the last half of the season when he received more snaps. His receiving numbers don’t jump off the page, but if you watched him play, you could see the talent there. He has a shot at making the 53-man roster with a good training camp.
The rest of the group is likely to be cut. Mason Kinsey, Colton Dowell, and Jha’Quan Jackson all had opportunities over the past few years to make an impact. Injuries and poor performances have kept them off the field, and the Titans would do well to move on since better options have arrived.
The Titans spent considerable capital in the draft on upgrading their WR room. They took Florida WR Chimere Dike with the 103rd pick in the fourth round. Dike offers speed, something the Titans sorely lacked. He put up a 4.34-second 40-yard dash at the combine and will be expected to help Ward stretch the field, an area in which Ward excels.
With the 136th pick in the fourth round, the Titans went receiver again, selecting Stanford standout Elic Ayomanor. In his two years there, he put up 1,844 yards and was the only receiver to make Heisman Trophy winner Colorado WR/CB Travis Hunter look human. His 6’2” frame will give Ward an immediate target in the Red Zone.
These picks are instant improvements over every WR on the Titans’ roster last year besides Ridley. They should both immediately compete for the Z position opposite Ridley. Dike can also play in the slot. If he shows the ability to beat defenders deep, he might replace Lockett there by the end of the season.
Undrafted Free Agents used to be just depth for OTAs and practice squad players. But occasionally players like former Minnesota Vikings UDFA Adam Thielen break the mold. The Titans hope they’ve found this year’s UDFA steal in Ward’s old college teammate, Xavier Restrepo.
Restrepo was a 1,000+ yard receiver his last two years at Miami, including 11 touchdowns from Ward last year. Adding him to this Titans roster gives Ward a target he’s already familiar with, helping ease his transition to the NFL.
The only knock on Restrepo was the slow 4.83-second 40-yard dash from his pro day, a stat that was surprising if you watched him play at Miami. When you see him on tape, he’s quick in his change of direction and has a knack for finding the open spots in zones. Ward pressed the Titans hard to pick Restrepo up, and the Titans trusted their new QB.
The Titans took a flyer on another UDFA, Connecticut’s TJ Sheffield. He was a consistent player during his college career with Purdue and Connecticut, but he never had more than 505 yards. None of his stats jump off the page as extraordinary, including his 4.53 forty time, but the Titans saw something in him they think is worth looking deeper at.
The 2025 Titans receiving corps looks to be much improved, at least on paper. They have invested in veteran leadership, speed, and proven performers through free agents and draft picks. Selecting a QB as the overall No. 1 pick means he needs weapons to prove you can build a franchise around him, and the Titans have hopefully provided that.
The receiving room is packed now, but the Titans aren’t likely to keep more than 6-7 receivers. Odds are that Ridley, Lockett, Ayomanor, Dike, Restrepo, Oliver, and Jefferson will fill those spots, in that order. That is, unless one of the other WRs shows out in OTAs, then the Titans will have some tough choices to make, a much preferable spot than they were in at this time last year.
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