Titans' next rookie breakout after Carnell Tate is painfully obvious

People aren't giving Mike Borgonzi enough credit for the young talent he has brought in for the Tennessee Titans over the last two seasons.

Last year's draft class has already produced five starters in Cam Ward, Kevin Winston, Gunnar Helm, Elic Ayomanor, and Marcus Harris, as well as a special teams standout in Chimere Dike and two solid depth pieces in Femi Oladejo and Jackson Slater.

This year, Titans fans could already see signs of another strong rookie class as early as training camp when Fernando Carmona came out of nowhere to earn a job as the team's starting right guard. Then, after a freak injury to Cedric Gray, Anthony Hill took over as the starting linebacker and never looked back on his way to Defensive Rookie of the Month honors.

Keldric Faulk should be the Titans' next breakout rookie after Carnell Tate

Not to be outdone by either of those guys, Carnell Tate put the league on notice when he became one of only a handful of 21-year-old receivers to put up a stat line with 145+ receiving yards in Week 4.

It will be hard for anyone to top that, but that doesn't mean another rookie can't step away from the pack and prove that they are going to be a factor on this team for a long time. That could be exactly what happens this week with the forgotten first-round pick, Keldric Faulk.

Despite criticism that the Titans aren't giving Faulk enough playing time yet, when you look around at what the rest of the rookies are doing, it makes sense to assume this coaching staff knows when rookies are ready to handle a bigger role. While Faulk's snap counts have risen from the mid-20% range to the low-30% range, the more important thing is what he is doing with his opportunity.

Titans rookie DE Keldric Faulk is capitalizing on his opportunities

After a bumpy start as a run defender, Faulk has improved each week. While he still lacks the right anchor to take on double-teams or stronger tackles, he has glimpses where he manhandles pullers and tight ends, and that signals positive progress. Faulk is one of the youngest players in the NFL, so the Titans are right to take their time with his development, but his improvement against the run is going to earn him more chances to rush the passer.

Considering the Titans used a cage rush against mobile passers in Weeks 2 and 4, the only real chance Faulk got to pin his ears back and rush was against the New York Giants in the rain. Most people might remember that as the game where he picked up his first career sack on a stunt against stellar left tackle Andrew Thomas.

This week, Faulk gets to face C.J. Stroud, who is not particularly mobile and who has already been sacked 12 times this season. Expect Faulk to make the most of his opportunities and show off his length and versatility if he is able to get on the field in obvious passing situations.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow