In our latest installment of Tennessee Titans 2020 training camp previews, we’re going to take a closer look at the tight end position. If you’ve missed any of our previews thus far, we linked to each of them at the end of this article.
Things will look a bit different for Tennessee at the position this year after the team parted ways with Delanie Walker during the offseason. With that said, the Titans are still looking strong at tight end for the upcoming season.
Let’s take a look at the team’s roster locks, players on the roster bubble, and then make a prediction for who will fill out the depth chart when the initial 53-man roster is released.
Roster locks
Jonnu Smith
Anthony Firkser
MyCole Pruitt
Analysis: The Titans will return three of the four tight ends that made the initial 53-man roster cut last season, with the exception being Walker, who was cut earlier this offseason and remains unsigned.
With Walker gone, that will open up a spot for a lesser-known tight end at the bottom of the depth chart — that is, if the Titans decide to carry four players at the position going into the season once again.
Not having Walker on the roster also means that Smith will be the undisputed No. 1 tight end for an entire season, which isn’t necessarily a new thing for the 24-year-old. He filled in for Walker in 2018 after he suffered a brutal ankle injury, and he was the main man in 2019 after seven games.
With Firkser filling in behind Smith, the Titans are going to have an impressive duo of pass-catching tight ends, giving them good depth at the position. Pruitt will take on his normal role as primarily a blocker, which he does as good as anyone in the NFL.
What we really want to see from Smith in training camp is improved chemistry with Ryan Tannehill. Smith and Tannehill worked out together a lot during the offseason, so the Titans’ signal-caller should be looking the young tight end’s way more often in 2020.
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.
Initial 53-man roster prediction
Assuming the Titans go in the same direction as they did last season and carry four tight ends to start the year, here’s a look at who we predict will make the cut.
| TE1 | Jonnu Smith |
| TE2 | Anthony Firkser |
| TE3 | MyCole Pruitt |
| TE4 | Cole Herdman |
The only real question here is who will get the No. 4 spot on the depth chart.
With all things seemingly equal in both the size and blocking departments for the three tight ends in competition for the last spot, we give the edge to Herdman because history shows he has the best all-around game.
Of course, catching passes isn’t really the most important thing when looking at qualities for a bottom-of-the-depth-chart tight end, but it’s the only discernible difference we can point to in order to make a decision.
In reality, it’s anyone’s guess who emerges as the winner of the competition for TE4.
