First-round pick Treylon Burks didn’t have the smoothest transition to professional life this spring, but another Titans offensive rookie had more success making the jump from college to the NFL.
Tight end Chig Okonkwo joined the team as a fourth-round pick after catching 52 passes for 447 yards during his final year at Maryland. He also caught five touchdowns and showed a knack for getting the ball in the end zone while doing red zone drills with the team at minicamp this spring.
Okonkwo felt he “progressed a ton” in his first months with the team and quarterback Ryan Tannehill agreed with that assessment while looking forward to what the rookie can bring to the offense this fall.
“Chig’s done a great job for us,” Tannehill said, via the team’s website. “He’s made some big strides this spring. I’m proud of the way he’s come in, learned what to do, and we’ll continue to push him on that. But just physically, to see his size, his strength, his speed, how he’s able to play through contact, he definitely gives us another weapon.”
The Titans brought in Austin Hooper after he was cut by the Browns, so the team won’t have to put all their tight end eggs in Okonkwo’s basket right off the bat. Should Burks continue to come along slowly, however, going with multiple tight ends might be a path the Titans explore to stay productive through the air in 2022.