On the bubble
Aside from the three locks, the Titans have three more tight ends currently on their roster. They are as follows:
Cole Herdman
Parker Hesse
Tommy Hudson (UDFA)
Analysis: If the Titans do indeed carry four tight ends into the season, more likely than not the guy who can prove to be the best blocker will win out here.
There are three things this trio have in common: none of them have ever taken a regular season snap in the NFL, they all have great size, and they didn’t contribute much in the passing game during their college days.
In fact, Hesse (6-foot-3, 261 pounds) played at linebacker and along the defensive line. Herdman (6-foot-4, 238 pounds) had the best pass-catching numbers in college of the three, posting 1,010 yards and eight scores over four years.
Hudson (6-foot-5, 255 pounds) didn’t see many targets, finishing his collegiate career with 25 catches for 205 yards and zero touchdowns.
However, the former Sun Devil did impress as a blocker, as I outlined using Pro Football Focus grades in a separate article from a few months back.
Hudson mostly made his presence felt as a blocker, totaling a pass-blocking grade of 72.9 (tied for 13th) and a run-blocking grade of 67.8 (tied for 24th), both good enough to rank in the top 25 among tight ends.