Tennessee Titans: Dez Fitzpatrick shaping up for big rookie role?
The Tennessee Titans have been hovering right around the center of the Julio Jones rumors, and for good reason. After losing Corey Davis in free agency (Jets), the Titans have not done a ton to really improve their wide receiver position in the 2021 offseason.
They were a popular team to go after a receiver in the first round of many 2021 mock drafts, but the Titans passed on receivers for the first two days of the draft. They didn’t make a move on a receiver until the fourth round when they traded up to get Louisville’s Dez Fitzpatrick.
The 2021 NFL Draft class was pretty loaded at the receiver position, so it should come as no surprise that a four-year starter like Fitzpatrick was slightly overlooked.
Fitzpatrick was making plays at Louisville long enough to have caught a number of touchdown passes from former NFL MVP Lamar Jackson before he was a first-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens.
Whatever intel the Titans had on Fitzpatrick going elsewhere in the 2021 NFL Draft, they must have really coveted him and felt like he had fallen at least a round further than he should have. The Titans moved up 17 spots and traded three picks to get the one to take Fitzpatrick early on in the fourth round.
Over four years at Louisville, Fitzpatrick caught 154 passes for 2,589 yards and 21 touchdowns. Although his production was never exactly stellar or other-worldly, he averaged over 19 yards per catch this past season and over 18 yards per reception a season before that.
Despite the fact that there’s nothing overly spectacular about Fitzpatrick, it’s difficult to poke many holes in his game or in him as a prospect in general.
Desmond Fitzpatrick was drafted with pick 109 of round 4 in the 2021 draft class. He scored a 8.82 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 297 out of 2517 WR from 1987 to 2021. https://t.co/nzvN5WWG3c #RAS #Titans pic.twitter.com/eYpUoM0AoG
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) May 1, 2021
Athletically, he’s rock solid. As a four-year starter at a major program, his experience is outstanding. His production was not winning him any Biletnikoff Awards, but it was strong overall and his yards per reception were tremendous.
Even as a fourth-round pick, with the way the Titans’ roster and depth chart are currently constructed, it would be somewhat shocking to see him have no role in the Tennessee Titans’ offense, even if they are able to acquire Julio Jones.