Ex-Vanderbilt player would be a perfect free agent signing for the Titans
With the Tennessee Titans needing help at wide receiver, the perfect free agent remains available in a former Vanderbilt Commodore.
The Tennessee Titans are in desperate need of help at wide receiver. The top three receivers on the team's current depth chart are Treylon Burks, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, and Kyle Philips.
If the Titans learned anything from their disappointing 2022 season, it's that playmakers on offense are invaluable, and separation is the name of the game. That's something they currently lack.
Tennessee will need to be a player in the free agent wide receiver market, and they'd be wise not to wait around too long. Some of the biggest names have already found new homes, but a former Vanderbilt Commodore that would fit the Titans' needs perfectly remains available.
Trent Sherfield played for Vanderbilt from 2014-2017 before joining the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2018. While at Vandy, Sherfield had 2,153 career all-purpose yards and 11 career touchdowns.
Sherfield's NFL career got off to a slow start. With the Arizona Cardinals from 2018-2020, Sherfield played in 44 games and had just 38 catches for 340 receiving yards. He had all the necessary explosive and athletic tools, but really struggled to piece things together as a polished route runner and reliable pass-catcher.
In his final year with Arizona, Sherfield played only 79 (7%) of the team’s offensive snaps, but was sixth on the Cardinals with 222 special teams reps.
Hoping to carve out a larger role for himself on offense, Sherfield signed with the San Francisco 49ers in 2021 while Titans GM Ran Carthon was working as the Director of Pro Personnel.
In 2022, Sherfield emerged as a really impactful offensive player for the Miami Dolphins. Sherfield had 30 catches on 51 targets with 417 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He played 58 percent of Miami's offensive snaps in a loaded receiving corps that featured Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle .
Now an unrestricted free agent, Sherfield is going to be a difference maker on his next team. He has some serious 4.40 speed, and according to NFL's Next Gen Stats, Sherfield was 4th in the NFL in YAC (yards after catch) above expected last season.
Here's the purpose of the YAC above expected statistic according to NFL.com:
"Receiver X catches the ball with no defenders near him and gets 10 yards after the catch. Receiver Y catches the ball in tight coverage, breaks a tackle and gains 5 yards after the catch. What's more incredible? Expected Yards After Catch (xYAC) is a new stat that Next Generation Stats (aka Next Gen Stats) has created to explain that."
Sherfield is one of the very best in the game at making something happen with the ball in his hands and he would be an excellent compliment to young playmakers Treylon Burks and Chig Okonkwo. As a matter of fact, Okonkwo was the NFL's leader in YAC Above Expected last season.
The Titans need to add more weapons with plus speed and the ability to make something out of nothing. The connection to San Francisco and Carthon also doesn't hurt, and if Carthon didn't already know what Sherfield could do, this 75-yard touchdown against the 49ers from November was an excellent reminder.
The former Commodore would be an excellent fit with the Titans, and a potential return to Nashville is an exciting possibility.
Image via George Walker IV / Tennessean.com-USA TODAY NETWORK
