The Tennessee Titans tight end Gunnar Helm is generating the national recognition he deserves ahead of the 2026 NFL season, and it’s about time. 

ESPN’s Ben Solak named the second-year pass catcher out of Texas as his Titans breakout candidate in a 32-team article this week, and I co-sign just about every word of it. Helm, a fourth-round pick a year ago, is positioned to be a significant weapon in Brian Daboll’s offense for quarterback Cam Ward after flashing real ability down the stretch of his rookie season.

Solak’s parameters were fair. One breakout candidate per team, no rookies, and a mix of developmental prospects on the cusp and middle-round picks in line for bigger roles. His Titans selection was spot on.

Ben Solak nails what makes Gunnar Helm special

Solak saw in Helm what I’ve already seen this offseason in the second year Texas product. 

“Big Gunnar Helm guy here,” Solak started. “He has the tools of an NFL starter — length, size, speed, ball skills above the rim/away from his frame and toughness through contact. If he’s an A-plus in any one trait, it’s his ability to track and adjust to the football. He makes the sort of tough downfield catches a tight end needs to make in order to become an explosive-play receiver.”

I couldn’t agree more. 

Going back to the early OTA practices in May, two guys stood out to me when watching the way the Titans catch the football. We all know the sound of a baseball popping into a glove. We all know what it sounds like when guys catch footballs thrown hard. Gunnar Helm and rookie Carnell Tate had several moments in those OTA practices where the ball just arrived in their hands with no sound. That kind of natural catching ability is uncoachable. 

The awareness, the soft hands, the way they track the ball in the air. You can’t teach that.

Whether it was during a drill, 7-on-7, or 11-on-11 at OTAs and minicamp, Helm consistently showed that spatial awareness and ball-tracking skill Solak described.

What Helm does for the “Cam Ward accuracy” conversation

A Helm breakout would connect directly to Cam Ward’s development. Ward discussed his accuracy in a Titans press conference last month, and the way he answered it was telling. 

“I just continue to focus on fundamentals, whether that’s feet, arm, everything to being a quarterback,” Ward said. “And then having myself be accurate in certain coverages in the receiver, you know, feeling which way I’m trying to turn his body and stop him if I need to versus certain coverage. So, getting that relationship of spatial awareness within the offense, I think that helped out everybody.”

If Helm and Ward are on the same page, Ward can be more accurate throwing to Helm. I think Helm has that situational awareness skill set to where connecting with Ward comes easier than it might with a receiver who doesn’t possess the same natural feel for spacing and timing. 

A pass catcher slightly in the wrong spot or unprepared for the right throw makes the quarterback look more inaccurate than he actually is. Helm’s football IQ helps minimize that problem.

What a Helm breakout season could look like in crowded Titans offense

Solak noted that Helm won’t lead Tennessee in receptions given the offseason investments in receivers Wan’Dale Robinson and Carnell Tate.

“He is a QB-friendly third option in the passing game who can move the needle as a blocker if his technique improves to match the physical toolkit. The lightbulb was starting to go on last season, and as more eyes turn to Tennessee this season, I think he’ll have national recognition by this time next year.”

Daboll’s offenses historically don’t funnel heavy volume to the tight end position. In his last two years in New York, the first and second wide receivers dominated target share compared to the third receiving option, with tight ends even further down the pecking order. 

The Titans are still figuring out how to spread the football around with Tate, Robinson, Helm, Calvin Ridley, second-year fourth-round picks, and running backs Tyjae Spears and Tony Pollard all in the mix.

But Helm’s rookie tape supports the optimism. He finished with 44 catches on 55 targets and did his best work down the stretch. Over a five-game stretch late in the season, Helm had 21 catches, 160 yards, and a touchdown, including six catches in back-to-back games against the Seahawks and the Jaguars, and four catches for 49 yards with a 34-yard touchdown against the 49ers. If that five-game pace becomes the norm, Helm won’t lead the Titans in any category, but he’ll be a big-time situational player making plays that get noticed nationally.

So finally, somebody gets it. Ben Solak, you get the Gunnar Helm assignment. He said he’s a big Gunnar Helm guy, and it shows.