Tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo no doubt left his mark on the Tennessee Titans and NFL in what was his first season in the league in 2022.
Despite everything going horribly around him, Chig shined, finishing with 32 catches for 450 yards and three touchdowns, serving as one of the few bright spots for Tennessee on offense in 2022.
But when you dig into the numbers a bit deeper, you can see just how truly special Okonkwo was. For starters, he led all rookie tight ends in receiving yards, but that’s not even the most impressive stat.
Chig finished with a rookie tight end record 2.61 yards per route run, which ranked second in the NFL behind only Miami Dolphins star receiver, Tyreek Hill (3.01), according to Pro Football Focus.
The next-closest tight end was the Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce, who was 12th (2.27). Chig also topped Kelce with three 40-yard receptions, proving he was one of the most explosive tight ends in 2022.
Another recent stat came to light via NFL analyst Warren Sharp that caught my eye and yet again underscores just how special Chig was.
He noted Chig is one of five players in the last five years to hit the trifecta of an EPA (expected points added) per target greater than 0.35, a yards after catch per reception greater than 7.9, and over 30 receptions.
Okonkwo joins quite the list that includes A.J. Brown, who accomplished the feat in his rookie season with Tennessee in 2019. It’s almost as if Brown was special, too, and shouldn’t have been traded — but I digress…
the last 5 years there have been only 5 players with a season of:
> 0.35 EPA/target
> 7.9 YAC/reception
> 30 receptionsJa'Marr Chase (2021)
Deebo Samuel (2021)
A.J. Brown (2019)
George Kittle (2018)
Chig Okonkwo (2022) <<<<Chig deserves to be featured more in the TEN offense https://t.co/XZ0ZGCYH4X
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) February 24, 2023
As impressive as Okonkwo’s season was, it could’ve been even better but the Titans and offensive coordinator Todd Downing didn’t start getting him involved regularly until about midway through the season.
Tennessee cannot make the same mistake in 2023 and instead must feature the Maryland product, who appears to be on a special trajectory going into Year 2.
