Before the 2025 season even began, it seemed like the Tennessee Titans got themselves a steal by taking Elic Ayomanor with the 136th pick. The former Stanford star was ranked 70th on Arif Hassan’s 2025 consensus big board, making him one of the biggest draft slides of the year. This looked even more true when Ayomanor got off to a hot start, leading the team in both receiving yards and touchdowns through four games.
According to PFF, his 1.29 yards per route run ranked 54th out of 91 receivers during that stretch (min. 75 routes). That’s a very respectable number for a rookie in one of the NFL’s worst offenses. All signs pointed to him putting together a nice rookie season as the rest of the young offense continued to grow around him.
However, in the 11 weeks that followed, his yards per route run dropped to a paltry 0.74, ranking 82nd out of 89 receivers (min. 200 routes). Narrow that range to just the last five weeks, and Ayomanor ranks dead last with a downright brutal 0.39 - comfortably the lowest in the league.
Titans rookie WR Elic Ayomanor is trending in the wrong direction
So what changed? The most obvious explanation is Calvin Ridley’s absence. The veteran has played just seven snaps since Week 5. He was the only credible pass catching threat on the team, and defenses gameplanned accordingly. Ayomanor was almost exclusively being used as the X receiver, and defenses routinely left him in single coverage, often matched against lesser defenders.
You can see how much this has affected Ayomanor when looking at his contested targets throughout the season. In five games with Ridley in the lineup, Ayomanor caught seven of his 13 contested catch opportunities. Those plays accounted for half of his receptions during that span. In eight games without Ridley, he has just two contested catches on four opportunities.
With the jump ball opportunities dwindling, Ayomanor now has to win more often with separation and timing, which he’s really struggling to do. He’s just not a very crafty route runner at this stage of his career. He doesn't process coverage quickly enough and his breaks can be far too rounded. He also lacks the feel for when to use certain route running techniques. For example, trying to put moves on a defender who he already has beat, allowing them to get back into the play.
Far too often Elic Ayomanor uses techniques in situations where they don't help him.
— AJ Cola (@AJ_FFball) December 16, 2025
When he comes off the line, he immediately has multiple yards of separation. Slowing his tempo and showing his eyes to the defender only reduces his separation. pic.twitter.com/wpdGADU549
With his current shortcomings as a route runner, Ayomanor is more of a backup or rotational player who can provide occasional splash plays. His effort and energy as a blocker will serve him very well, as it allows him to play in single-receiver sets and be a downfield target on plays with heavy play action fakes.