It is painfully obvious that the 2025 Tennessee Titans season is a waste from a wins and losses standpoint. Following Sunday's Week 9 shortcoming, the Titans are 1-8 with few winnable games left on their schedule. They are simply in fact-finding mode the rest of the way.
One of those players making progress is rookie quarterback Cam Ward, who is essentially the make-or-break guy in terms of how we can evaluate the 2025 season. The rest of the draft class is another area where the Titans want to see continued improvement, and Ward's rookie pass catchers are thankfully trending upwards along with him.
Chimere Dike, Elic Ayomanor, and Gunnar Helm were all drafted in the fourth round. They were supposed to show they are capable NFL players with the upside to be contributors in the future, and the past few weeks have shown promise in that regard.
Titans rookie pass catchers keep making plays
All things equal, the midway point of the season is when you want to see your rookies start to catch on. The Week 8 defeat versus the Indianapolis Colts was collectively the best showing for the pass catchers so far. It started with Helm, who scored his first touchdown as a pro at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Through the first four weeks, Helm had seven catches on eight targets for 64 yards, but in the last five weeks, he has 13 catches on 17 targets for 123 yards and a touchdown.
Elic Ayomanor was up-and-down against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 9, but eventually made an impact. He has registered 26 receptions for 323 yards and two touchdowns. He was productive versus the Colts, catching four passes on eight targets for 52 yards.
One legitimate criticism of Ayomanor throughout the year, however, has been his drops, and there was another hiccup in the Chargers defeat. That clearly has to get better, but all things considered, the Titans will gladly take what they have gotten from their fourth round rookie.
The Titans rookie currently garnering the most attention is Dike, who has exploded over the past three games. The bulk of his production this season has come in those contests, as he has recorded 12 catches for 168 yards and a touchdown. Dike was limited as a pass catcher versus the Chargers on Sunday, but did return a punt for a 67-yard touchdown, ending the Titans' 13-year drought of failing to score a punt return TD.
Strong performances from the rookie class is imperative because the trade deadline is on Tuesday. One of the guys on the block is Chig Okonkwo, and Calvin Ridley has also been mentioned. If the rookies stay on their current pace, that might give Mike Borgonzi less pause about making such deadline decisions.