Tennessee Titans: Tajae Sharpe Exceeding Expectations

Ever since being selected in the fifth round of the NFL Draft this past April, Tajae Sharpe has so far exceeded expectations in the Music City.

Many fans don’t pay attention to the NFL Draft after the first few rounds, and understandably so. Most of the star power is long off the board, and the chances of your team finding the next late-round steal of the decade is slim to none. Although it’s far too early to tell for certain, former University of Massachusetts wide receiver Tajae Sharpe, drafted in the fifth round, is looking like a potential impact player.

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Granted, Tennessee’s wide receiver corps is anything but stable right now, but it does have some potential. In order to keep the bulk of the reps, the rookie wideout is going to have to hold off the likes of recent veteran addition Andre Johnson, Dorial Green-Beckham, Harry Douglas, Justin Hunter, and Tre McBride. Former Miami Dolphin Rishard Matthews is slated to start the opposite side with Kendall Wright manning the slot, and I don’t expect that to change.

With that being said, it doesn’t look like Sharpe is ready to slow down, as he’s kept his great game going from OTAs to now, especially in the team period. The team period is the most important, because it’s when players translate the work they’ve done in individual sessions (position-based) and translate it to a real game scenario. Terry McCormick of Titans Insider was at the first few camp practices for the Titans and had this to say about Sharpe. (via Twitter)

Jason Wolf of the Tennessean also had something to say about Sharpe’s play thus far.

In his four years playing for the Minutemen, Tajae Sharpe’s production only went up. In 2015, he finished his collegiate career with 111 receptions, 1,319 yards, and five scores.

Coming out of college, Pro Football Focus gave the 6’2″ pass catcher  the fourth-highest receiving grade out of any receiver in this draft class. If you believe that is in part to the lackluster competition UMass plays, Sharpe scored a high rating in two games against ‘Power-5’ opponents in 2015.

The rookie wide receiver brings a similar skill set to the table as fellow Titan Rishard Matthews, who fans also shouldn’t sleep on.

Both players run precise routes and have dependable hands, which is huge for Marcus Mariota, who prefers to throw based off of anticipation of the route.

With the Titans running an ‘exotic smash-mouth’ based offense, the receivers don’t need the ability to take the top off the defense.

Their main job is to get open, secure the ball, and get up the field to gain as many yards as possible.

The rest of the offense will come from the legs of DeMarco Murray, Derrick Henry, and even Mariota. The receivers in this scheme just need to be dependable, not game breaking.

Watching and reading about Sharpe reminds me a lot of former Tennessee Titans pass-catcher Derrick Mason.

Mason made a living catches passes on intermediate routes, and it showed with his 12.8 yards per catch average over his entire 15-year career (via NFL.com).

The fifth-round selection didn’t wow scouts with his 4.5 forty yard dash, but Sharpe does have the awareness and feel for the game to get open 10-20 yards down the field. With this physical brand of offense, that’s all you really need to continue to chew clock and grind out yards.

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When the Tennessee Titans kick off the regular season at home against the Minnesota Vikings (which I’ll be attending), I actually expect Andre Johnson to start off the season opposite Matthews. Johnson is someone who could be exactly what the Titans need and would be a veteran the entire offense can rely on as they get the season going. But don’t be surprised to see Tajae Sharpe slowly push the seasoned veteran out of the starting line up by midseason.