Tennessee Titans 2022 NFL Draft grade: Chigoziem Okonkwo

Jon Robinson may have found a potential starter for the Tennessee Titans on Day 3 with Maryland tight end Chig Okonkwo.

In my article on 10 players that I wanted the Titans to draft on Day 3, I made sure to include Okonkwo because he is just so much fun to watch. Isaiah Likely gets a lot of publicity as the TE with the best receiving upside in this class, but don’t sleep on Chig.

Turn on the Penn State game and you will see the kind of upside that he has, and it doesn’t hurt that he had the fastest 40 time of any TE at the NFL Combine this year.

Here’s what that means if you’re a Tennessee Titans fan

The Tennessee Titans famously couldn’t teach Anthony Firkser to block, but don’t forget that they did manage to teach Jonnu Smith how to handle his business in the run game.

To that point, he has all the athleticism to be an inline tight end in the Titans’ offense which is so important. If you are going to play in this scheme you have to be able to hook EDGEs and seal the end man on the line of scrimmage (play side), or you have to be able to get up to the second level and beat linebackers to a spot (backside).

If you have the athleticism to do that, then the rest just comes down to willingness and coachability.

In the meantime, Chig can earn playing time on special teams and as a moveable weapon that can beat linebackers in space with ease. Hopefully, in 2023 the Titans re-sign Austin Hooper and Okonkwo can take over as the TE2.

What did the Tennessee Titans miss out on?

Nothing.

Sure, there were receivers on the board that they could have taken but they obviously feel comfortable with Treylon Burks and Robert Woods as the starters and everyone left on the board is someone that would have to compete with Nick Westbrook-Ikhine for the WR3 spot.

Grade: A