What Nick Westbrook-Ikhine has in common with one Titans' great
Nobody expected Nick Westbrook-Ikhine to finish second among the Titans in just about every major receiving statistic in 2021.Though the Titans might have preferred more production out of Julio Jones, Josh Reynolds, and Anthony Firkser, the team turned over the right stone to find Westbrook-Ikhine as an undrafted free agent in 2020. Knowing performance is […]
Nobody expected Nick Westbrook-Ikhine to finish second among the Titans in just about every major receiving statistic in 2021.Though the Titans might have preferred more production out of Julio Jones, Josh Reynolds, and Anthony Firkser, the team turned over the right stone to find Westbrook-Ikhine as an undrafted free agent in 2020.
Knowing performance is critical in climbing the depth chart, Westbrook-Ikhine took advantage of his opportunities in a year when the Titans where hamstrung at the wide receiver position. Recent offseason additions such as Robert Woods and Treylon Burks will likely cut into Westbrook-Ikhine’s usage, but the Titans should feel comfortable with NWI serving as the unit’s next man up in 2022.
The Titans struck UDFA gold once before at the wide receiver position when they gave UCLA's Drew Bennett a chance in 2001. Bennett spent his first three years in college as a quarterback before converting to a receiver in his senior season.
After recording 24 catches for 329 yards and a touchdown in his rookie year, Bennett’s production would only increase in his six-year stint with Tennessee.
While Westbrook-Ikhine certainly has more to prove in order for Titans fans to hold him in the same regard as Bennett, the two did have strikingly similar statistics in their second year in the NFL.
Bennett ('02): 33 catches for 478 yards and two touchdowns.
Westbrook-Ikhine ('20): 38 catches for 476 yards and four touchdowns.
While this particular comparison covers just one season, their numbers are nearly identical.
In Bennett’s third year in the league, he totaled 504 receiving yards on 32 catches. However, his breakout season came in 2004 after WR Derrick Mason signed with the Baltimore Ravens in free agency, leaving Bennett as the Titans’ primary pass catcher.
Bennett would go on to accumulate 1,247 yards and 11 touchdowns in that ’04 season, cementing him as the best undrafted free agent in Titans history. Bennett ranks 12th in franchise history with 273 receptions and 10th in receiving yards (4,033).
Nobody should jump to conclusions after Westbrook-Ikhine’s 2021 campaign, but his sophomore season production is intriguing -even more so when putting it up against Bennett's year in 2002.
If Westbrook-Ikhine’s tenure in Tennessee looks anything like Bennett’s did, he will be a major contributor for the Titans for years to come. That is, as long as he doesn’t drop any fourth down passes against the New England Patriots in the postseason.
I’m only kidding, Titans fans.
Featured image via Steve Roberts – USA TODAY Sports
