Tennessee Titans rookie tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo has been one of the more impressive pass-catchers on the team whenever he has the ball in his hands.
The 6-foot-2, 244-pound Georgia native is an explosive runner who possesses a rare blend of speed and power for someone his size.
Okonkwo is currently averaging over 20 yards per catch, while also being one of two tight ends in the NFL to have recorded multiple receptions of at least 40 yards — both of which have occurred in the last two weeks.
The frustrating part in all this is you would think this would result in more opportunities, but unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case.
There are two TEs in the NFL with multiple receptions of 40+ yards this year:
-T.J. Hockenson, a Pro Bowler and a former first round pick with 62 targets.
-Chig Okonkwo the #Titans 4th round rookie with 13(!) targets
Fix this please!
— Sacrifice Todd Downing (@jlomas72) November 14, 2022
Okonkwo has accounted for 141 yards on seven catches through nine games. Even more confusing is the fact that he’s only been targeted a total of 13 times this season.
It seems like Tennessee sporadically teases the fanbase with their explosive rookie tight end, only to go away from him completely for whatever reason.
Someone needs to let the Titans’ offensive coaching staff know that it’s not a crime to use the inexperienced rookie playmakers who are clearly more explosive than the veterans they often trot out there.
HUGE play for Chigoziem Okonkwo
on 3rd 😤pic.twitter.com/ulMdCkxBNj— Titans Nation (@TitansNationCP) November 13, 2022
On Monday, head coach Mike Vrabel admitted the team would like to get Chig more involved, so that’s good news.
“We’d like to [get him more involved],” Vrabel said of Okonkwo. “Trying to continue to find ways to get him the football… We’ll continue to try to find ways to get everybody involved and do things to help us. Yesterday [Chig] came through with a big catch. We’ll see where it goes this week.”
Despite being limited, the rookie tight end has still produced more yards after contact (87) this season than the rest of the Titans’ pass-catchers (excluding running backs).
The Maryland product is also separating as much as anybody on the team whenever he’s actually allowed to run a route. According to Next Gen Stats, over Okonkwo’s last three games, he’s accounted for:
- 3.77 yards of separation versus the Texans
- 2.24 yards of separation against the Chiefs
- 2.8 yards of separation versus the Broncos
In fact, the Titans’ tight end is the only player on the team to eclipse at least two yards in each of the last three games.
Okonkwo isn’t a perfect tight end by any means, but it’s becoming very clear that he presently has one of the highest pass-catching ceilings on the team.
Needless to say, it’s time for the Titans’ 32nd-ranked passing offense to stop babying their explosive rookie and instead find ways to properly utilize his unique skill set.
