Tennessee Titans fans have to be thrilled about the way the offseason has shaped up for them. It has been so good that even the national media have given them praise for the great turnaround.
If the goal of the offseason was to raise the floor, the team absolutely did that by adding impact players to premium positions like EDGE, cornerback, and wide receiver. However, team building isn't just about loading up on the premium positions; it is about building quality depth with glue guys and utility players behind the starters that can help mask weaknesses when things get tough.
The Titans' Day 3 rookies should be interesting to fans because those are the players who are going to provide quality depth if everything goes according to plan. Last year, Day 3 picks like All-Pro Chimere Dike, Gunnar Helm, and Elic Ayomanor stole the show, but Marcus Harris did a good enough job to earn a starting role on the defense last year, and he was the team's fifth cornerback coming out of training camp.
This year, one of the players who has a chance to make the roster and fill one of those utility roles is seventh-round pick Jaren Kanak, a tight end out of Oklahoma.
Titans 7th round TE Jaren Kanak enters training camp looking to replace a proven veteran
While David Martin-Robinson has looked like a nice project at tight end for years, he hasn't found a way to make it to the field very often outside of special teams. Guys like that need to be able to wear multiple hats, and with 13 tackles in his NFL career, he isn't a bad special-teams player, but it also might not be enough to lock him into a roster spot if someone can come along and do better.
On the other hand, the Titans specifically mentioned Kanak's ability to play special teams, and it is easy to see why. How many tight ends finish their college career with 100+ tackles? Kanak did, because before he converted to tight end, he was a linebacker for the Sooners, and he ended up playing extensively on special teams even after the conversion.
If John "Bones" Fassel signed off on the team drafting Kanak for his special teams skill set, he could be an under-the-radar addition that helps keep this special teams unit elite. Whether you believe Cam Ward is a future superstar quarterback or not, the fact remains that the Titans' easiest path to success with this roster is to stay elite on special teams and to become great on defense. Kanak can help with that even as a seventh-round pick.
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