Category: Titans training camp

Biggest takeaways from Titans’ 6th padded practice of training camp

The biggest takeaways from the Titans’ sixth padded practice of training camp.

The Tennessee Titans hit the practice field for their sixth padded session of training camp on Tuesday — and with that practice, they are one step closer to their preseason opener on Saturday against the Chicago Bears.

The Titans had their longest list of absences of any training camp practice, a list that was headed by wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. While we can’t say exactly why Hopkins was absent, it doesn’t appear to be injury-related.

On the flip side, the Titans saw the return of offensive lineman Corey Levin, who had missed multiple practices in a row of late. Levin’s return is a welcomed sight, as he’s an important depth piece for this team.

In other news, guys like linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair and wideout Reggie Roberson continued what has been an impressive summer for them. We also have several notes on how the quarterbacks fared.

Now, the biggest takeaways based on what beat writers on the ground saw.

Titans’ Chig Okonkwo talks studying Delanie Walker, blocking

Titans TE Chig Okonkwo has been studying other top tight ends, including Delanie Walker.

Following a promising rookie season that saw Tennessee Titans tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo go from a relatively unknown mid-round pick to arguably the team’s most promising young player, many believe the second-year tight end is on the cusp of a true breakout season in 2023.

The Maryland product led all rookie tight ends in receiving yards (450), touchdowns (three), and overall grade (75.4, PFF), while also being among the most efficient players among pass-catchers, regardless of experience.

This year, Okonkwo hopes to take that next step in his development, and his position coach, Tony Dews, has apparently been showing him tape of stars all around the league, including George Kittle and Mark Andrews.

However, it’s been a former franchise legend who many compare his overall potential to that Chig has been watching the most.

Delanie Walker, at his peak, was every bit of a star for the Titans and was often the No. 1 passing threat for the entire offense, while also being a true tone-setter in the run game with his blocking.

When asked about the main takeaways from his film study, Okonkwo said it was the realization that there are several different ways to win a rep, and just because something works for one tight end doesn’t mean it will work for him, and vice versa.

The second-year tight end also discussed how he’s trying to get back to his playing weight from his Maryland days to help with his blocking.

Okonkwo added that he believes his biggest strength in that particular area is his explosiveness, which helps him to get off the ball quickly so he can establish his leverage.

While No. 85 took the modest approach when discussing his game, All-Pro safety Kevin Byard praised the Titans tight end for the way he carries himself, both on the field and in the locker room.

Byard mentioned how he “likes the way he works every single day” toward refining his craft as the two constantly remain in communication with each other to discuss ways to make themselves better.

Chig now hopes to translate everything he’s learned over the last year to help him build off a strong rookie season that saw him finish (among tight ends):

  • No. 1 in yards per route run: 2.61
  • No. 1 in yards per reception: 14
  • No. 2 in Receiving grade: 84.6
  • No. 2 in Targets per route run: 26.2 percent
  • No. 2 (tied) in YAC per reception: 7.8
  • No. 7 highest passer rating when targeted: 125.1

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Biggest takeaways from Titans’ first unofficial depth chart

The biggest takeaways from the Titans’ first unofficial depth chart.

The Tennessee Titans released their first unofficial depth chart ahead of their first preseason game, which comes on Saturday afternoon against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.

Of course, this depth chart is not set in stone and will undergo changes as training camp and the preseason progress, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t at least some things to glean from it.

For anyone who has been following training camp closely, there weren’t many — if any — surprises. However, that won’t stop us from going over some of the highlights.

Before we get started, a look at the unofficial depth chart in its entirety, just in case you missed it:

Just a note in case there’s any confusion: when there are two lines of names at a certain spot, you start from left to right on the top line, and then go from left to right once again on the second line.

Now, the takeaways.

Biggest takeaways from Titans’ 5th padded practice of training camp

The biggest takeaways from the Titans’ fifth padded practice of training camp, which featured plenty of wind and a good day from Andre Dillard.

After a few days off (or at least a few days with no media availability), the Tennessee Titans held their latest open session of training camp Monday, which begins the week leading up to their first preseason game.

That’s right, we’ll have some actual football this week — albeit preseason — when the Titans start their 2023 preseason on Saturday afternoon against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, with kickoff set for noon CT.

Training camp has definitely told us some things, but evaluations will take a big step forward once players take part in live-game action. However, don’t expect many — if any — starters to play Week 1, but that remains to be seen.

With two weeks of training camp in the books, we’ve released our latest 53-man projection that takes into account everything we’ve seen at camp thus far. You can check that out right here, if you’re interested.

Monday’s practice saw high winds impact the passing game (to get a good idea of just how windy it was, check out Will Levis’ post-practice interview below; it sounds like he was standing in a wind tunnel), but both Will Levis and Malik Willis showed some flashes, with Willis having perhaps the best throw of the day.

We have all that and more in our latest installment of the biggest takeaways from training camp practice.

Titans’ Chris Hubbard putting in ‘a lot of work’ to get up to speed

Titans OL Chris Hubbard received praise from Mike Vrabel for the work he’s putting in, as well as for his attitude and professionalism.

When the Tennessee Titans signed veteran offensive lineman Chris Hubbard, he was one of many players vying for the right tackle job, but he wasn’t the frontrunner, as that title was held by Jamarco Jones.

However, with Jones being released following two practice ejections last week, it’s now Hubbard who figures to be the favorite, mostly thanks to his advantage in experience over the rest of the competitors for the job.

When asked about Hubbard’s showing after the first week of practice for him in Tennessee, Titans head coach Mike Vrabel said he was pleased with Hubbard, especially when it comes to his attitude and professionalism.

He also noted that Hubbard has been working hard to get up to speed.

“Chris has been great,” Vrabel said, per AtoZ Sports Nashville. “Chris has been professional, he’s been attentive. Again, not without mistake like everybody else, but it seems like he’s put a lot of work in to figuring out what we want to try to do each and every day in the early installation. And I think things will start to calm down going forward here when we move into next week just because we’ve gotten most of everything in and so hopefully there will be some more improvement. But I’ve liked everything that I’ve seen from him, as far as his attitude and his professionalism.”

After what we saw from Jones, the part about Hubbard’s professionalism and attitude stand out a bit more.

But at the end of the day, it’s going to be Hubbard’s performance on the field that determines if he wins the job, something that certainly isn’t a foregone conclusion yet.

Things are moving quickly for the 32-year-old, who is learning things on the fly after not having a full offseason with the team. Thankfully, it appears he’s putting in the work necessary to get up to speed.

The 32-year-old will have another week of practices ahead of what could be his preseason debut on Saturday against the Chicago Bears, which, assuming he plays, should give us better insight into where he and the rest of the right tackle candidates stand.

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Update on Titans’ kicker competition going into 3rd week of training camp

An updated look at the Titans’ kicker competition ahead of the third week of camp and first preseason game.

The Tennessee Titans’ kicking competition between Trey Wolff and Caleb Shudak continues to be a toss-up two weeks into training camp.

It seems as if the Titans are choosing to alternate between the two kickers each practice, allowing them to operate as if they are the team’s primary kicker every other practice.

According to Jim Wyatt of TennesseeTitans.com, Wolff was 6-of-7 in a field goal period during Friday’s practice, with makes from 33, 40, 47, 52, 33, and 43 yards out, and a miss from 46,

Wolff had another miss on top of the 46-yarder, with the Texas Tech product failing to hit a 55-yard attempt to end a mock two-minute drill. In total, Wolff has now made 32 of his 36 kicks in camp (88.9 percent).

As for Shudak, he didn’t kick in Friday’s team period, but was 9-for-9 during Thursday’s practice, per Wyatt. He’s more than holding his own whenever it’s his turn to trot out there, making 93.1 percent of his kicks since training camp began (27-of-29), per Wyatt.

After another week of practices, the next step in the competition will come in preseason Week 1, when the Titans take on the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on Saturday at noon CT.

We currently do not know how the Titans are planning to split the kicks in that game, but it’s a safe bet that we’ll probably get to see both Shudak and Wolff at some point.

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Updated Titans 53-man roster projection after 2nd week of camp

Our latest Titans 53-man roster projection following the second week of training camp includes six new additions.

With the Tennessee Titans set to embark on their third week of training camp on Monday, it’s time for an updated 53-man roster projection that reflects what we’ve seen over the first two weeks.

In addition to this being the the third week of camp, the Titans will also take part in their first preseason contest on Saturday afternoon when they take on the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, with kickoff set for noon CT.

In my latest projection, there are six newcomers, with four on offense and a pair on defense. Each newcomer is marked with an asterisk, per usual, and I’ve provided a write-up explaining the reasoning behind their additions.

On top of that, I’ve also provided some players to watch at other positions, including at linebacker and kicker.

And, as always, you won’t find guys like Nicholas Petit-Frere and Dillon Radunz, as the former is suspended for six games and the latter figures to start the season on the PUP list.

In addition to those two, Caleb Farley is excluded for the first time since I’m starting to lean toward him beginning the season on the PUP list given he’s still on there after two weeks.

Now, the projection.

Titans’ Sean Murphy-Bunting prefers to play outside over slot

Sean Murphy-Bunting is ready to play wherever the Titans need him, but he prefers playing outside over the slot.

The addition of cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting is one of the Tennessee Titans’ more underrated signings of the offseason.

The veteran defensive back is an experienced and productive player who is coming off a strong 2022 campaign as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

According to Pro Football Focus, the Central Michigan product finished last year with a coverage grade of 80.9 and an overall grade of 76.6. He also allowed a completion rate of 51.2 percent and a QB rating of 59.6 when targeted, both career-bests.

Murphy-Bunting’s best outing of the year came against the Kansas City Chiefs’ high-powered offense, finishing with an overall grade of 92.6 and a coverage grade of 95.0.

SMB’s versatility to play inside and outside is something that undoubtedly intrigued a Mike Vrabel-led team that often prioritizes players who can contribute in a variety of different ways.

However, with Roger McCreary projected to be the team’s premier nickel back, Murphy-Bunting will mostly focus on defending the wide receivers along the boundary going forward.

The fifth-year veteran recently discussed his versatility, but noted he’s more comfortable on the outside than in the slot.

“I would say I’m comfortable really anywhere, but as far as playing on the outside, I played there in college,” he said. “I am more familiar with I guess the techniques, the types of releases, and the types of stems you get. It’s easier for me to be able to read a receiver there.

“And the nickel is a hard job for anyone really, it’s a little more detailed than being on the outside. But I would say I could do both, but I prefer the outside.”

Murphy-Bunting was also asked if he was willing to play inside should Tennessee ever need him to, and he emphatically stated he would do whatever it takes to help the team.

Regardless of which position the former second-round pick plays this season, he’s undoubtedly capable of doing both at a relatively high level after seeing 117 snaps while lining up at the nickel and 278 snaps outside in 2022.

When you add his talents to a secondary that also includes McCreary, Kristian Fulton, Kevin Byard, and Amani Hooker, it’s easy to see why there is some optimism surrounding the Titans’ secondary going into 2023.

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Peter Skoronski: Facing Titans’ defensive front will ‘force me to get better’

Titans OL Peter Skoronski is embracing the opportunity to go up against such a talented defensive front in practice.

Tennessee Titans offensive lineman Peter Skoronski continues to develop ahead of his first season in the NFL, where he’ll be playing left guard, a position the former left tackle did not play at in college.

As if learning a new position wasn’t difficult enough, Skoronski is going up against a fearsome group of defensive lineman as he gets acclimated, with the Northwestern product regularly facing Denico Autry, Jeffery Simmons and Teair Tart in practice.

While it has been “awesome” to watch, according to offensive line coach Jason Houghtaling, it’s also a valuable learning experience for the rookie, who will only improve against such talented competition.

“It’s tremendously challenging, and those guys are some of the best in the league in terms of the whole defensive front,” Skoronski said, per ESPN’s Turron Davenport.

“They kind of show you a little bit of everything of what you might see, so I’m really fortunate to have guys to really challenge me everyday and force me to get better.”

Skoronski was asked what it’s like facing a faster guy like Arden Key when he comes to the inside. He noted that experience at tackle helps him with an assignment like that.

“Yeah, obviously that’s tough,” he admitted. “I’ve got to kind of go back to my tackle days in dealing with speed like that, but the same fundamentals still apply.”

With a rookie like Skoronski, you at least want to see him holding his own against such talented players, and lately he appears to have been doing just that.

“Some solid reps from Peter Skoronski vs. bull rush from Denico Autry, Jeffery Simmons,” Davenport wrote on Thursday.

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Biggest takeaways from Titans’ 4th padded practice of training camp

On what was a rainy day, the Titans’ offense struggled overall, but there was at least some positive news about the offensive line.

The Tennessee Titans took part in their latest practice of training camp on Friday, which was also the team’s fourth padded session.

Like yesterday, the weather wasn’t working in the Titans’ favor, as rain fell throughout. However, without any lightning popping up, Tennessee was able to keep the session outdoors this time around.

And that was bad news for the offense, which saw the quarterbacks have issues throwing the ball, and wide receivers have issues catching it.

Obviously that’s not ideal, but these are the types of things teams have to practice in order to prepare for the inevitable game or games where the weather doesn’t hold up.

On top of the rain and offense’s performance, there was some injury news to talk about, as three players did not participate in practice, while two others left early.

Check out those takeaways and more from the Titans’ latest training camp practice on Friday morning.