Tennessee Titans fans should keep an eye on the USFL
By Will Lomas
There have been two spring football leagues come and go, but that doesn’t mean that Tennessee Titans fans should ignore the USFL.
It is nearly the end of May and this is the first article about the USFL that has been on Titan Sized, in large part because any spring league has to prove that it can stick around before I buy in again. However, over the last few weeks, Tennessee Titans’ Senior Writer/Editor Jim Wyatt has answered two separate questions about the USFL in his mailbag.
Both exchanges looked like this:
"Luke Williamson from Andover, MassachusettsQuestion: This is a bit of a weird question, but have the Titans been watching the USFL? Obviously the NFL misses some talent and a few of these guys could end up being elite players like Kurt Warner.Jim: Hey Luke. The team’s pro scouting staff is definitely keeping an eye on the USFL, and it’s prospects."
Tennessee Titans’ potential targets in the USFL
Without getting too deep into the weeds, the USFL has three players that could be intriguing for the Tennessee Titans given their needs.
KaVontae Turpin WR, New Jersey Generals
Turpin was a receiver that profiled as an undersized, but fast weapon coming out of TCU. He currently leads the USFL in receiving yards and yards after contact, both of which are things that should interest the Titans after the turnover at the receiver position.
Chris Odom EDGE, Houston Gamblers
Odom has bounced around NFL practice squads in Atlanta and Green Bay, but when he was promoted to the active roster for a brief time in Washington, he had two sacks in a game against the Carolina Panthers.
He currently leads in USFL in sacks with 8 in 6 games, and he is worth consideration as a depth piece on defense even though the Titans are fairly loaded on that side of the ball.
Victor Bolden Jr., WR/KR Birmingham Stallions
Bolden is a lot like Turpin in that he came out of college as an undersized receiver, but the difference is that he didn’t run a sub-4.4 40 as Turpin did.
While he hasn’t done much as a receiver, he leads the USFL in kick return yards which is something excelled at in college. If the Titans love what they see out of Kyle Philips, Bolden could be someone that they sign to hopefully lighten his load on special teams to allow him to be fresh on offense.