The Tennessee Titans have quite the crowded wide receiver room. Calvin Ridley, DeAndre Hopkins, Tyler Boyd, and Treylon Burks are all locks to make this roster. I figure Nick Westbrook-Ikhine is pretty safe. But, outside of that, there’s a group of receivers competing for what is likely just one spot…maybe two. If you start going through the guys competing for the back end of the roster, there’s a myriad of “yeah, but” guys. Guys that, by and large, look good in the summertime, but have that one thing that makes you think they’re not a lock to make this roster. Mason Kinsey…Jha’Quan Jackson…Kearis Jackson…and the undrafted receiver out of Youngstown State, Bryce Oliver. Those dudes.
Listen – we did a ton of work on the 2024 Stacking The Inbox NFL Draft Guide. But, I’d be a liar if I said that Oliver was on my radar. I’ll give our buddy Ryan Watson credit…he’s the only guy I heard that stood up and said this guy from Youngstown State was an interesting pick up when the Titans signed him as an UDFA. We’ve heard from people that have actually been out at training camp that Oliver has done well, but seeing it in the preseason opener is a different story. Of course, it’s against the 49ers 4th stringers, but it was impressive enough that it did make me wonder if there’s more to this guy than we’re giving him credit for. Does he have a legit shot to make this wide receiver race interesting?
Malik Willis ➡️ Bryce Oliver 🎯🙌 pic.twitter.com/T5a6H0a45O
— Sean McEvoy (@QBCoachMcEvoy) August 11, 2024
There’s something to be said for the simple skill of being in the right place at the right time as a receiver. Oliver showed that on that throw, on top of having great concentration at the point of the catch, and the footwork to get those feet down and inbounds. But, while that catch was all the rage on Titans Twitter Saturday night, it was this catch that really caught my eye when watching the all-22 back.
Nifty bit of speed variance from Bryce Oliver here to set up his break and he timed it perfectly to glide open, turn it up field, and move the chains. Sharp. pic.twitter.com/u8fJCSBOiU
— Stoney Keeley (@StoneyKeeley) August 13, 2024
I’d say this is pretty advanced stuff for a UDFA – there’s some speed variance in there to cause hesitation in the cornerback covering him, and he times his break perfectly across and behind his teammates causing conflict in the secondary, springing Oliver open. You don’t go from “wow – he’s doing great against the 49ers 4th stringers” to “run him with the 1s!” But, I do think Oliver’s performance on Saturday was good enough to warrant a look higher up the pecking order at receiver. We’ll see – regardless, he should be a fun player to watch this preseason, and I’d imagine that he at least ends up on the Titans practice squad.
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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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