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One Tennessee Titans player who is seeing a bit of preseason hype is tight end Anthony Firkser, who posted a career year in 2020 with 39 catches for 387 yards and one score despite having a limited role.
After the departure of Jonnu Smith in free agency, and with the Titans failing to address the position in free agency or the draft, Firkser is Tennessee’s top pass-catching tight end and stands to have an increased role in 2021.
Adding to that, the Titans are currently thin at wide receiver, and if that doesn’t change Firkser could see even more opportunities through the air.
It appears Pro Football Focus’ Ben Linsey is somewhat buying into the hype, as he ranked the Harvard product at No. 28 on his list of the top 32 tight ends in the NFL ahead of this coming season.
Tennessee’s decision not to bring back Smith at tight end is in part a reflection on how they feel about Firkser, who gave them a reason to be confident in his receiving ability last season. Firkser didn’t drop a single target in 2020 and ended the year with a career-high 77.7 receiving grade that ranked ninth among qualifying tight ends. Now he gets the opportunity to do it again in an increased role on a Titans offense that lacks proven receiving threats behind A.J. Brown.
This is a nice dose of respect for Firkser, who didn’t make the cut on PFF’s list last season.
While Firkser shines as a pass-catcher, the biggest knock on him has been his blocking, which could stop him from being an every-down tight end for Tennessee and force him to split snaps with Geoff Swaim.
Another factor that could limit Firkser’s work would be if the Titans add a more well-rounded tight end than he and Swaim, who is more of a blocking specialist, to take the top spot on the depth chart.
Regardless of what happens, we’ve seen the Titans use Firkser in multiple ways, including out of the slot, so even if he doesn’t secure the No. 1 role it won’t necessarily be the death knell of what we expect to be a breakout season for the 26-year-old.
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