This Ran Carthon Titans draft pick is in Grave Danger of losing his roster spot!
George Walker IV / AP
The Tennessee Titans are entering the key phases of training camp, and one Ran Carthon draft pick is slowly looking like a long shot to make the roster.
Written by Dharya Sharma
Founder/Owner of SharmSports. NFL contributor at The Sporting News
Donald Page/Tennessee Titans
Josh Whyle is in GRAVE DANGER of getting cut
At one point last year, Whyle was expected to break out and be the Titans’ future starting tight end. However, after a lackluster 2024 campaign, where he tallied just 248 receiving yards and one touchdown, his future in Nashville is looking murky.
Tennessee decided to use a fourth-round pick in April’s draft on Gunnar Helm, who has basically locked up the TE2 role behind Chig Okonkwo. Helm has been impressive in camp and is proving to be a solid security blanket for Titans quarterbacks.
With Helm likely locked in as the No.2 tight end, Whyle will be fighting for one of the last spots in the position group. However, that isn’t going to be easy because David Martin-Robinson and Thomas Odukoya are in his way.
According to Jim Wyatt of Titans.com, Martin-Robinson has been standing out in camp and has tallied 10 catches in four open practices.
“Tight end David Martin-Robinson, meanwhile, continues to surge. DMR caught four passes on Tuesday, and he now has 10 catches in the four open practices,” Wyatt wrote in an article on Tuesday.
On the other hand, Whyle has been quiet, and though he did snag two receptions during Wednesday’s open practice, he hasn’t been very involved in the offense in camp.
“Whyle let a catchable ball escape his grasp early. He's having a pretty quiet camp so far,” Wyatt wrote in an article on Tuesday.
Though we don’t know this for sure, it sounds like Martin-Robinson has the upper hand over Whyle in the TE3 competition based on practice reports.
If the Titans decide to keep four tight ends, they could keep Whyle as the fourth guy. However, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Tennessee keeping Odukoya over Whyle due to his ability to excel on special teams. Last preseason, Odukoya made a crazy hustle play on special teams versus the New Orleans Saints, and it earned him a spot on the roster.
In 2024, the Titans kept five tight ends. I don’t see them doing that this year due to the highly contested receiver battle, which may lead to them keeping seven receivers. Whyle isn’t a lock to be cut, but the Cincinnati product needs to step it up moving forward, or things could get dicey.