Back in May, I dove into this year’s class of undrafted free agents, and I said Miller Forristall was one of my favorites of the class. Today, I’m doubling down on that. The book on Forristall seems to be that he’s a one-dimensional, blocking tight end that doesn’t offer much in the explosiveness department – but I honestly didn’t see much different between him and some of the tight ends that were actually drafted this year. Here’s what I said about Forristall back then:
I understand the concerns about Forristall, but I see a project at tight end that could develop into a solid contributor. I’ll put it this way – I don’t see a whole lot of difference between Forristall and some of the tight ends drafted in the middle rounds of this year’s draft. He is a great blocker, showing a good drive back and he finishes his blocks well. But, that wasn’t always the case for Forristall as he came on the scene at Alabama. People thought he was going to be the next great dynamic pass catcher at tight end. He became a great blocker, and that’s promising to see – he can be coached up. But, I wouldn’t sleep on his ability to make plays either. When called upon at Alabama, he showed he can be a nifty runner against zone coverage, and that he has good, soft, natural hands. He does have a bit of an awkward stride, and not a whole hell of a lot of juke, to beat man coverage. But, he’s good on tight end screens with blockers in front of him, and he’s got a nose for finding soft spots in zone coverage. When you’re in an offense as loaded as Alabama’s was, it’s going to be hard to find opportunities to make plays when you’re that low on the totem pole. But, there’s a wealth of potential with Forristall. He even has a background at quarterback, having been relegated to the bench in high school, and ultimately changing positions altogether to tight end, because some kid named Trevor Lawrence came along. We saw a bit of that background in the SEC Championship, when Forristall successfully ran a quarterback sneak against the Florida Gators.
When he was called upon at Alabama, no matter the task, he showed an ability to rise to the occasion and execute. He’s a lump of clay – with it, you can mold it to fit your vision however you see fit. He saw some serious action in Friday night’s game against the Atlanta Falcons, tying Mason Kinsey and Fred Brown for a team-high four targets. With those four looks, Forristall hauled in three catches for 20 yards, and this beautiful touchdown:
Miller Forristall with a Touchdown pic.twitter.com/woRvU5CA6A
— Alabama DieHards (@DiehardsAlabama) August 14, 2021
This is a prime example of the nifty route running I was talking about – he lures the linebacker into a terrible angle before turning upfield, beating him to the end zone, and then showing us those soft hands to secure the catch for the touchdown. Sure, it was late in the 4th quarter of a preseason game against the back end of the Falcons depth chart. But, it’s an illustration of the type of ability that Forristall possesses. If he can continue to prove himself in situations such as this, it could lead to more opportunities – we know that’s how things work with Mike Vrabel and this staff. Rookies earn their spots. With more opportunities comes a chance to secure a roster spot. Nonetheless, it was definitely a feel-good moment for Forristall.
“I told coach on the sideline, it felt like the ball was in the air for like 10 minutes,” Forristall said on Sunday. “But that was awesome. It was really cool, where I grew up, to catch a touchdown and celebrate with my teammates. It was a really cool experience. I’ll cherish that one for a while.”
Too many people are writing this kid off because he didn’t light up the box scores at Alabama. But, as I mentioned before, it’s hard to find opportunities in that offense when it’s as loaded as it was. He’s shown throughout his career a propensity for delivering when called upon. The Titans have their top two guys at tight end in Anthony Firkser and Geoff Swaim. But, outside of those two, the race for TE3 is wide open. Based on the number of snaps played Friday night, it seems the Titans are really wanting to get a good look at Forristall and Tommy Hudson, with Jared Pinkney seemingly behind both in the pecking order. The wild card here is veteran Luke Stocker, who the team brought back recently to add to the competitive depth at the position. I don’t know if the Titans are trying to create competition to push some of the younger talent, if there is a genuine concern about the hole at that position, or maybe even a little bit of both – but it’s a loaded room, at least from a numbers perspective. It seems reasonable, because of this, to think that would indicate the Titans have far from made up their mind about who the TE3 is going to be.
There’s a chance the Titans keep four tight ends, and if that’s the case, I’ll feel a lot better about this take. But, even if they stick with three, I think I like Forristall the best out of the bunch. Stocker may be the safest bet, but he doesn’t quite have the same upside that he used to. I don’t think it’s a hot take to say that Hudson is definitely beatable here. So, if Forristall can keep stringing together good performances, all I’m saying is that you can’t quite count him out of this TE3 race just yet.
Top-5 @PFF grades for rookies on offense this week:
— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) August 16, 2021
1. Titans TE Miller Forristall, 91.1
2. Chargers RB Larry Rountree, 87.7
3. Colts WR Tyler Vaughns, 87.4
4. Patriots RB Dhamondre Stevenson, 86.3
5. Cardinals WR Rondale Moore, 84.0
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Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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