Chosen two rounds apart in the 2022 NFL Draft, tight end Chig Okonkwo and cornerback Roger McCreary — up until a couple days ago — represented the last two remaining Titans of the 23 players picked from 2020 to 2022.
That changed Monday, when the Titans traded McCreary and a 2026 sixth-round pick to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for a fifth-round selection.
Will Okonkwo be next, leaving the Titans with zero draft picks on the roster from 2020-22?
Like McCreary, Okonkwo will be a free agent at the end of this season, making him a nice potential pick-up for a playoff contender this year — a player who wouldn’t necessarily figure into future payrolls.
Also like McCreary, who was the Titans’ nickel cornerback, Okonkwo plays a position that lacks depth around the NFL. Just look at the Denver Broncos, who on Wednesday signed 41-year-old Marcedes Lewis, a 19-year-old vet, to the team’s practice squad.
A steady producer for the Titans over the past three seasons, Okonkwo has 27 catches for 271 yards (10.1-yard average) in eight games this year, which has him on pace for a career-high 57 receptions and 576 yards.
Will those numbers prove too tempting for another team to pass up before the NFL’s Nov. 4 trading deadline? Will an offer prove too tempting to turn down for the Titans, who are trying to stock up on draft capital as their rebuilding process continues?
Those kinds of questions are the reason Okonkwo’s name has routinely come up in trade speculation, along with the likes of teammates Arden Key, Dre’Mont Jones, Jihad Ward and Quandre Diggs, among others.
“I mean, [trade speculation is] forced down my damn throat every day,” Okonkwo said with a smile Wednesday. “People DM me, `Bro, come to this team. You’re getting traded.’
“It is what it is. I know it’s NFL football. These things happen. I can’t control my future. All I can control is what I do on the football field.”
A fourth-round pick in 2022, Okonkwo said if it was up to him, he’d stay with the Titans until the day he retired.
But the four-year veteran has seen enough comings and goings on the Titans’ roster to understand there are no guarantees.
“If they call me in the office today, shit, what am I going to do?” Okonkwo said. “I got to go out there and do what I do. So while I’m here, I’m a Titan and I’m going to play hard for the Titans and try to get wins for the Titans, and I love this organization and I love this team.”
Okonkwo has been one of the reasons Titans rookie quarterback Cam Ward has bettered his completion percentage over the past month, as the former Maryland standout has caught 14 passes (on 18 targets) for 147 yards in Tennessee’s last four contests.
The fact that Okonkwo’s play is apparently at least catching the eye of some other teams around the NFL can only benefit him when it comes time for a new contract after the season — whether that’s with the Titans or another organization.
“It’s definitely a good thing going into my free agency,” Okonkwo said. “Knowing that teams are excited is definitely a good thing for me personally.”
In the meantime, it will be business as usual this Sunday when the Titans host the Los Angeles Chargers — assuming, of course, that Okonkwo is still here.
“That’s what I’m preparing for this Sunday — take on the Chargers and have a great game,” Okonkwo said. “Going from there, we’ll see. [It’s the] last week before the trade deadline. Go out there and ball out. Make [teams] make a decision, and we’ll see.”