‘I love him for it’ Tennessee Titans subtractions allow diamond in the rough to finally shine
NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Titans (2-6) pulled out a 20-17 victory over the New England Patriots (2-7) on Sunday afternoon, getting back in the win column behind a huge effort from wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. Westbrook-Ikhine had five catches, 50 receiving yards, and a touchdown in Week 9. While that may not jump out in a […]
NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Titans (2-6) pulled out a 20-17 victory over the New England Patriots (2-7) on Sunday afternoon, getting back in the win column behind a huge effort from wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine.
Westbrook-Ikhine had five catches, 50 receiving yards, and a touchdown in Week 9. While that may not jump out in a box score, it was another example of NWI making some magic with the opportunities he is given.
At the start of the regular season, Tennessee hardly used Westbrook-Ikhine on offense. In fact, the 27-year-old wide receiver was not targeted with a pass until Week 6. It was Treylon Burks taking the reps as the Titans' WR4 instead.
"We had a good group of guys with [DeAndre Hopkins]. We thought we had a chance to see what we could use Treylon [Burks] for," said Titans head coach Brian Callahan on Sunday afternoon when I asked him what took so long for NWI to get involved in the game plan. "That's how these things go during the season. An opportunity came up for him to take more reps and Nick does what it seems like he's always done here: When he gets an opportunity, he seizes it."
That "opportunity" was the Titans shipping Hopkins to the Kansas City Chiefs in a trade and Burks landing on Injured Reserve with a knee injury.
It forced the hand of this coaching staff and NWI hasn't looked back since. He has 10 catches, 108 receiving yards, and four touchdowns in the last four games. Of those 10 catches, nine of them have gone for a first down or a touchdown. Truly a remarkable run for a former undrafted free agent that has had to claw his way onto the 53-man roster year after year.
But nowadays, NWI is much more than a special teamer on the bottom of the roster. He's a reliable offensive weapon and one of the brightest shining stars of the Titans' 2024 season.
"He's proved to be reliable. He's where he's supposed to be. Quarterbacks like throwing to him because of his consistency. All of those things are important and then when the ball goes his way, he's made plays. That's the name of the game in the NFL," said Brian Callahan in his postgame press conference on Sunday. "I trust Nick as much as anybody on our football team right now to go play football at the level required to win. I love him for it."
Westbrook-Ikhine arrived to the stadium on Sunday repping a graphic t-shirt with a Honda Accord on the front. He said it was a metaphor for his NFL career, leaning into the idea that it "might not look pretty, but it'll get you from A to B. That's what I'm here for. Just get us from A to B and help us win," he said.
It's a truly rootable story in an otherwise somber year for Titans fans. Especially because the emergence of Nick Westbrook-Ikhine seemed impossible when he was buried on the depth chart in the offseason. "Coaches have put me in a position and trusted me to be starter on the team. Coming in, I probably wasn't expecting that knowing the roster that we had," NWI said postgame.