Tennessee Titans announce 14 UDFA signings with one notable exception
By Will Lomas
This weekend will be the first time that the Tennessee Titans get to see their rookies in Nashville, and that includes the newly announced collection of 14 undrafted free agents.
Those 14 players are:
-Shakel Brown DT, Troy
-Jacob Copeland WR, Maryland
-Tre'Shaun Harrison WR, Oregon State
-Matt Jackson S, Eastern Kentucky
-Steven Jones CB, Appalachian State
-Tyreque Jones S, Boise State
-Anthony Kendall CB, Baldwin Wallace
-Charles McClelland RB, Cincinnati
-T.K. McClendon DL, EKU
-Caleb Murphy EDGE, Ferris State
-John Ojukwu OT, Boise State
-Otis Reese LB, Ole Miss
-Thomas Rush LB, Minnesota
-Trey Wolff K, Texas Tech
The Tennessee Titans did a good job finding UDFA contributors under Jon Robinson, so it will be interesting to see if this class is different in a positive or negative way. As far as rankings go, the authority on UDFAs put the Titans right in the middle of the NFL in his UDFA rankings.
In case you didn't know who I was talking about, Thor Nystrom has been putting in the work year in and year out to give degenerates (like you and me) the details on their newest UDFAs. In his rankings, he breaks down which teams ended up with which players, their positional rankings, their overall rankings, their RAS, and their pro comps.
It is an incredible undertaking and I linked it above so you should check it out for more information.
UDFAs to watch for the Tennessee Titans
In his analysis of the Titans class, Thor mentions four players by name.
First is WR Jacob Copeland, who is one of the UDFAs who have a great chance to land on this roster for a few reasons. Obviously, this is a team that is desperate for wide receivers, even if they don't seem to know that yet. Additionally, he started off his career at Florida (Ran Carthon's alma mater) and he finished his career at Maryland where Ran Carthon's former running backs coach Mike Locksley is the head coach.
That inside knowledge along with producing guys that the Tennessee Titans like in Chig Okonkwo and Jaelyn Duncan, makes him a name to keep an eye on over the next few months.
Another name is John Ojukwu the offensive tackle from Boise State. I think he could be the final piece for an offensive line that should have the wiggle room on the roster to keep 9 guys this season. If Dillon Radunz (the Titans' best backup guard or tackle) starts the season on the PUP list, Ojukwu could join Corey Levin, Jamarco Jones, and Jaelyn Duncan as one of the backups until they have to make a decision once Radunz can come back from the PUP list.
Third, is linebacker Thomas Rush who is probably going to be a stash guy who might be placed on the practice squad to start the season.
Finally, Thor mentions Kearis Jackson a wide receiver from Georgia. It was widely reported that Jackson had signed with the Titans including a tweet from Jackson's agency that was retweeted by Jackson. However, his name isn't on this list and that is curious and concerning because he feels like the natural heir apparent to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine at 10% of the price.