Titans have new front-runner for biggest training camp surprise

In my latest 53-man roster projection for the Tennessee Titans, I had 10 rookies making the team, including undrafted free agent tight end David Martin-Robinson.

When the Titans announced their class of UDFAs, some names stood out. Running back, Jabari Small and cornerback Gabe Jeudy-Lally played at UT (the real one) so naturally there was intrigue. Dillon Johnson, the running back from Washington, was their highest-rated UDFA according to most draft experts.

However, Martin-Robinson flew under the radar and looked more like a camp body than anything else. After all, the Titans had just invested a 2022 and 2023 draft picks in Chig Okonkwo and Josh Whyle, and if that wasn't enough, they signed veteran Nick Vannett after they announced the class of UDFAs.

It looked like Martin-Robinson was going to fill out the training camp roster with the best-case scenario being that he would be retained as a practice squad player.

Then the pads came on and everything changed.

Titans OC Nick Holz said as much on Tuesday when Martin-Robinson's name came up.

"There are some guys when the pads come on, they shrink. And there is some guys when the pads come on and they kinda rise up and all of the sudden they feel like a really natural football player...[During OTAs] you are trying to worry about technique and he kinda took all those techniques in the spring and he came back and he put the pads on and he came alive. So we are really happy with where he is, what you are seeing in the preseason games and what you see in practices shows up every day. For a rookie to play with that consistency and at a high level and an undrafted one at that is pretty impressive and we are really ecstatic."

That sounds like a coach describing someone who is making the 53-man roster. Nobody would have predicted that a month ago.

Long-time Titans fans have a little bit of PTSD about training camp tight ends after the Titans released Jack Doyle 11 years ago, only for the Indianapolis Colts to sign him. Doyle then went on to have an eight-year career with the AFC South rival including two trips to the Pro Bowl.

Hopefully, a head coach with a more modern approach to roster building can see that Martin-Robinson's value as a pass catcher transcends the position he plays, and the Titans don't have a repeat of the Doyle fiasco.