Tennessee Titans 2022 fourth-round pick and tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo was among the team’s biggest standouts at mandatory minicamp last week, catching a handful of touchdowns during the two open practices.
Okonkwo believes he’s made “a ton” of progress so far this offseason, and his quarterback, Ryan Tannehill, would agree.
“Chig’s done a great job for us,” Tannehill said, according to Jim Wyatt of Titans Online. “He’s made some big strides this spring. I’m proud of the way he’s come in, learned what to do, and we’ll continue to push him on that. But just physically, to see his size, his strength, his speed, how he’s able to play through contact, he definitely gives us another weapon.”
How much the Titans use this new weapon in 2022 remains to be seen, as Okonkwo figures to start the season as the No. 3 tight end behind Austin Hooper and Geoff Swaim.
If Okonkwo wants to fully surpass Swaim on the depth chart and get more snaps, he’ll have to improve as a blocker. For now, the Maryland product is at least showing enough as a pass-catcher to have some kind of role regardless.
Offensive coordinator Todd Downing says the Titans have asked Okonkwo “to do a lot” this offseason, but believes the rookie has “handled it well.”
“We’ve asked him to do a lot,” Downing said. “We’ve thrown a lot at him. I think he’s handled it well. I think he’s hungry and eager to please. There are obviously some new roles and some assignments that we’ve given him. Those are always going to come with a little bit of a learning curve. But I think he’s doing a nice job with it.”
Tight ends coach Luke Steckel expressed his excitement for what he’s seen out of Okonkwo thus far, but notes there is still a lot of work to be done.
“I think he’ll be the first to tell you there’s still a lot to learn, there’s a lot to improve on,” Steckel said. “But he’s shown some glimpses, some flashes of some of the things he can do, and that certainly gets us excited.”
After mandatory minicamp wrapped up, Okonkwo got a little extra work in by attending Tight End University, where he worked with some of the best players at his position in the NFL.
“That’s going to be a great experience for me, just getting to see literally the best tight ends in the league and to pick their brain for three days and just learn what they do, what they’re looking at in the passing game and the run game,” Okonkwo said prior to the event, per ESPN’s Turron Davenport. “I definitely feel like that’s going to be a little quick getaway for me to learn a lot of football.”
The Titans will have a month-plus off before returning for training camp, and Okonkwo will spend some of that time in Georgia trying to acclimate himself to the heat he’s going to face in Nashville in late July and August.