Chig

Okonkwo

Okonkwo ever-so-slightly Moss’d Tyrique Stevenson on his 17-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter but was otherwise invisible along with the rest of the Titans’ passing game as Will Levis attempted to set the quarterback position back 10 years. Okonkwo is not looking like a compelling TE2 streamer ahead of Week 2 against the Jets.

Without buying too far into depth charts, it’s notable that Okonkwo is not listed as the starting tight end alone for Week 1 against Chicago. Okonkwo is coming off a down 2023 season in which he averaged a meager 1.6 yards per route run and Whyle has drawn praise from Titans coaches this summer. Look for Okonkwo and Whyle to split pass-catching duties to start the season.

No. 2 TE Josh Whyle (concussion protocol) was inactive but Okonkwo still failed to separate from his position group. Conversely, No. 3 TE Nick Vannett caught 2-of-2 targets for 30 yards playing alongside Okonkwo in the first-team offense.

Titans tight ends focused on their physiques this offseason; Wyatt reported in June that Chig Okonkwo likewise worked to improve his stability, in order to improve his cutting ability. A wise move, given Whyle’s incremental encroachment on Okonkwo’s 2023 role before a Week 13 knee injury landed Whyle on injured reserve. Okonkwo remains the team’s No. 1 tight end but Whyle did perform more efficiently last year, earning targets at a 25.9 percent rate while averaging 1.62 yards per route run. Okonkwo finished respective per-route averages of 18.4 percent and 1.31. Whyle will have to fully unseat Okonkwo to become re-draft relevant but should be safely stashed on dynasty benches in the meantime.

The third-year tight end has focused on stability work designed to help with more precise route running. “I feel like I maximized the potential I had in my body, and if I wanted to get better, I had to change the structure of how I move and stuff,” Okonkwo told the team’s website. Though his stats fell off dramatically from 2022 to 2023 — including a yards per route run that went from a stellar 2.61 to 1.31 — Okonkwo remains a highly athletic tight end who could benefit from a modernized offense under new head coach Brian Callahan. He said he looks forward to making plays on the inside as defenses focus their attention on DeAndre Hopkins and Calvin Ridley on the outside. Okonkwo, who ran 58 percent of his routes from the slot in 2023, could very well bounce back in a more pass-heavy Titans offense this season.

Okonkwo was billed as a second-year breakout for 2023 but failed to live up to the hype built by an efficient rookie campaign. His yards per target, which sat at 9.8 in his first season, plummeted by over three yards this year. Okonkwo’s yards per catch and yards per route run also regressed. He did manage to significantly boost his receptions totals, catching 54 passes for 528 yards and one touchdown. Okonkwo started the season as a part-time player but came on down the stretch, boosting his route rate and counting stats in the process. He caught 27 balls for 322 yards over his final seven games. The late-season resurgence will keep him on the fantasy radar for 2024, though only as a TE2.

Okonkwo finished third on the Titans in catches, targets, and yards, though that speaks more to the sorry state of affairs in Tennessee than it does to his production. Coming off his best game of the season, Okonkwo returned to his normal, TE3 self in Week 17. He will not be on the streaming radar when the Titans close out their season versus the Jags next week.

Okonkwo’s touchdown catch was on a trick play pass from Derrick Henry where Okonkwo found himself wide open in the back of the end zone, but the points count the same. With Ryan Tannehill under pressure most of the game, Okonkwo became the preferred safety value, leading the team in targets and catches. It’s only the second time all season that Okonkwo has topped 50 yards receiving, and the first time he’s done so in regulation, so we should temper our expectations for him going forward. However, he will have Will Levis back under center next week against a banged up Texans defense, so he is firmly on the TE2 radar.

It was a down day for Okonkwo, who had seen at least five targets in his past three games — quite the feat in a run-heavy Titans offense. Okonkwo against the Texans ran a route on 25 of the team’s 36 drop backs. He’ll be a touchdown-dependent TE2/3 option in Week 16 against the Seahawks.

Okonkwo finished the day third on the team in targets with a 16 percent target share. He was a solid option for Will Levis on play-action attempts but remained a secondary piece of the Titans’ passing attack on the whole. With one game over 50 yards and no touchdowns this season, Okonkwo is not on the fantasy radar heading into Week 15.