As the Tennessee Titans hope to usher in a new era of football in Nashville, they will be relying on a contingent of young players to push that development forward.
It goes without saying that quarterback Cam Ward, taken with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft, will be the one leading the charge. However, the pieces around him will play a key role as well.
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Despite the presence of a handful of veteran wide receivers such as Calvin Ridley, Tyler Lockett and Van Jefferson, there’s a chance some of the young players taken later in the draft wind up having an impact as well.
In fact, Damian Parson of Bleacher Report believes a big role could be in store for fourth-round pick Elic Ayomanor.
Ayomanor is among the few receivers on the roster with the requisite height, weight and talent to play as the boundary X-receiver. His ball skills at the catch point will offer Ward a different type of receiver than he’s been accustomed to throughout his collegiate career.
The 22-year-old tracks the ball well and plucks it out of the air with strong hands, potentially showing a reliable red-zone threat.
Calvin Ridley is the unquestioned WR1 for the Titans offense while veteran Tyler Lockett mans the slot position, leaving the X-receiver spot up for grabs.
If Ayomanor takes his momentum from OTAs and minicamp into training camp, the role will be his to lose.
The Stanford product will have to climb the depth chart with a strong showing during training camp and the preseason, but the opportunity should be there for him to carve out a role alongside Ridley.
At this point in the offseason, it’s easy to harp on the upside that unproven players have, but Ayomanor has held that label since before the draft.
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It may not happen right away, but Ayomanor will continue to be a player to watch for the Titans once they return for training camp.
This article originally appeared on Titans Wire: Titans’ Elic Ayomanor named underrated rookie with big impact potential