Perhaps the most surprising thing to come out of the Tennessee Titans' first unofficial depth chart of 2024 was the fact that tight ends Josh Whyle and Chigoziem Okonkwo were listed as co-starters at the position.
It has long been assumed that Chig would be the starter entering 2024, but a wrench was thrown into that thinking with the aforementioned depth chart.
On Wednesday morning, head coach Brian Callahan clarified the situation, noting that the team views Whyle as a "Y" tight end and Okonkwo as an "F".
In plain English, the Titans view Whyle as more of a traditional inline tight end and Chig is more of a wild card who will be used all over the formation thanks to his impressive skill set.
Titans HC Brian Callahan on the TE room:
— Easton Freeze (@eastonfreeze) August 7, 2024
Josh is more of a Y
Chig is more of an F
The jury was still out on Whyle's ability as a blocker upon entering the NFL, but he did show at least some promise in that area last season, on top of his showing glimpses of being an impact pass-catcher.
.@Titans @KingHenry_2 got back to their brand of football. A punishing blend of power and creativity to blow these cats out of music city. #TitanUp #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/z0c2uMXweV
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) October 2, 2023
The Cincinnati product has been a standout throughout the offseason after a quiet rookie campaign that saw him tally just nine catches for 94 yards and a touchdown before seeing his season cut short due to injury.
As things stand now, Whyle appears set to have a much larger role in 2024, and that will come at the expense of Chig's playing time, as the Titans are likely to use less 12 personnel than they did in the days of the previous regime.
