First went Theo Jackson in October 2022. Then went Malik Willis, Hassan Haskins and Kyle Philips in August 2024. Soon after that went Chance Campbell and Nicholas Petit-Frere in spring 2025. Now, in the last month, Treylon Burks and Roger McCreary have gone too.
Tight end Chig Okonkwo remains, the only survivor from the Tennessee Titans‘ much-maligned 2022 NFL Draft class.
“Dude, I’m the last one bro,” Okonkwo told reporters with a laugh on Oct. 29, two days after McCreary’s trade to the Los Angeles Rams rendered him the sole survivor.
It’s not just the 2022 class. Okonkwo is the last remaining Titan from any of former general manager Jon Robinson’s last three drafts with the team dating back to 2020. With a wry smile, Okonkwo said he remembers sizing up his teammates as a rookie and wondering who’d be the last one standing.
Turns out, whether this was a real competition or not, Okonkwo won.
“It is weird,” Okonkwo conceded. “All my friends are slowly fading away.”
As Okonkwo’s well aware, the natural follow-up question is about whether he’s next. The Titans are 1-7. Okonkwo’s on the final year of his rookie contract, meaning he’ll be a free agent in the spring. And rookie tight end Gunnar Helm was drafted as Okonkwo’s expected successor. If the Titans want to squeeze any value out of Okonkwo before the upcoming Nov. 4 trade deadline, the time is now.
Before McCreary was traded, he told The Tennessean he wasn’t aware of any trade rumors circulating about him. Okonkwo isn’t taking that same tact. He says he’s getting direct messages on Instagram every day from fans of rival teams making their pitches for why Okonkwo should be traded to their squad. He sees the rumors. He knows he’s a central figure in a lot of them.
And he knows there’s nothing he can do about it.
Okonkwo says the Titans haven’t talked to him about any trades, and he says if it was up to him he’d finish his career with the Titans. But he’s not going to bother himself with things outside of his power.
“All the rumors are going on, it is what it is,” Okonkwo said. “NFL football. Whatever happens, happens. I’m focused on playing good ball this weekend. That’s the only thing I can control. If I play good football this weekend, then maybe I can control where I go, so…”
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at  nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X @nicksuss. Subscribe to the Talkin’ Titans newsletter for updates sent directly to your inbox.