Latest NFL Combine news could create domino effect for Titans at wide receiver

INDIANAPOLIS — The landscape of the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine changed on Monday with two of the top wide receiver prospects in the upcoming draft class announcing that they would not be participating in on-field workouts this week. Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers will both be in […]

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Empty media press conference podiums during the NFL Scouting Combine at Indiana Convention Center. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

INDIANAPOLIS — The landscape of the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine changed on Monday with two of the top wide receiver prospects in the upcoming draft class announcing that they would not be participating in on-field workouts this week.

Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers will both be in Indianapolis and interviewing with the media and teams. But neither will be running the 40-yard dash or testing.

Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze, on the other hand, will be. It’s a dynamic that could create a domino effect and impact the Tennessee Titans in the draft.

Odunze likely to test well

It’s not exactly a hot take to say that I expect Odunze to test very well this week. There’s a reason the former Washington Huskies wide out had 92 catches, 1,640 receiving yards, and 13 touchdowns in 2023. 

Odunze is listed at 6’3” and 215 pounds with athleticism that is absolutely going to turn heads in Indianapolis. He was on Bruce Feldman’s College Football Freak List last fall.

"The Pac-12 leader in receiving yards with 1,145 last year to go with 75 catches, Odunze, 6-2, 216 pounds, was a terrific high school sprinter at Vegas powerhouse Bishop Gorman who won the 4A state title in the 200 meters (21.25) and the 4×100 relay (41.36)," wrote Feldman for The Athletic back in August. "This offseason, Odunze ran a 4.34 40, a 4.19 pro agility shuttle and also did 37.1 inches on the vertical and 10-1 in the broad jump. Offensive lineman Troy Fautana, at 6-4, 315, a 400-pound bencher who ran a 5.1 40 and vertical-jumped almost 30 1/2 inches, is another Husky who got strong consideration."

I’m fully anticipating Odunze to come in the 4.3's in the 40 and 4.1's in the shuttle this week. If he does hit those marks and lets his athleticism shine while Nabers and Harrison don’t run…I wonder how it may tilt the narrative in his favor for some teams.

The margin between these three receivers (Harrison, Nabers, Odunze) is already so minuscule. Could an impressive week in Indy move Odunze ahead of Nabers or Harrison for some teams? All it takes is one team to drastically shift the draft.

For the Tennessee Titans, who are sitting with the 7th overall pick in this year’s draft, it could be the difference in which offensive weapons remain on the board.

After hearing from Ran Carthon and Brian Callahan and Brian Callahan at the NFL Combine on Tuesday, it's obvious that the Titans are putting an emphasis on adding playmakers. Callahan even stated that players who "score touchdowns" are more impactful than offensive linemen or other players that don't.

I still think Harrison is the WR1 of this class for most teams. He should be the first one off the board. And while I’m personally in Malik Nabers’ camp, someone taking Odunze over Nabers doesn’t feel impossible. Maybe that means Nabers is still on the board for Tennessee at 7, which would be a no-brainer for Carthon and Callahan in my estimation.

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