Tennessee Titans: UDFA that could make biggest impact in 2019
The Tennessee Titans signed a hoard of undrafted free agents. Most usually don’t make an impact immediately but one player could in 2019.
Kareem Orr is a shutdown corner from Chattanooga and a player who was unknown by almost anyone outside of Chattanooga. The Tennessee Titans will get to know him well, though, after signing him as an undrafted free agent.
The Titans already have a pretty solid secondary unit with players including former first-round pick Adoree’ Jackson, Kevin Byard, Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan. With the Titans’ coverage unit pretty much set, Orr won’t become a starter anytime soon, but he could become a stout backup defender for the Titans down the stretch when the season gets tough late.
In their last eight games of the 2019 season, the Titans will face five opponents who ranked in the top half of the league in offense in 2018. The Titans won’t have it easy and the first half of the season isn’t much better, so the Titans are going to need a few reliable backups on both sides of the ball to help give some starters some much-needed rest.
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The Titans will face the Kansas City Chiefs and the Indianapolis Colts, who both ranked in the top-10 in offense last season. In the last three weeks of the season the Titans will face the Houston Texans twice and the New Orleans Saints in the middle of those two matchups.
Orr is a player who can defend at a high level and the coaching staff won’t have to stress knowing a starter is out for a series now and then. He was an All-American in his freshman season at Arizona State, which is where he first made his name. He racked up six interceptions at free safety and next season dominated at the corner position totaling 53 tackles with one interception.
If you go back and watch Arizona State’s bowl game against West Virginia in 2015, he was all over the field. He finished with seven tackles and an interception with one tackle for a loss in the bowl game. He continued that success in 2016 where he totaled five or more tackles in six games.
Orr transferred to Chattanooga for personal reasons and was much more versatile with the Mocs. He played deep safety, box safety, dime linebacker, nickel corner and outside corner, finishing with five interceptions in his two seasons there.
It’s hard to find a player who can transition to the NFL with the experience that Orr has at multiple positions and, when you do, that player usually doesn’t go undrafted.
Last season, Orr was phenomenal, allowing just 14 completions and zero touchdowns. You can highlight the zero touchdowns because you don’t see that often from a player who took as many snaps as he did.
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Orr is best when he’s in space, allowing him to make plays on the ball. He seeks out contact, and there’s nothing more a defensive coach like Mike Vrabel wants to see in his safeties and corners than that. He has excellent tackling form and isn’t afraid to go after players with more size than him.
Titans fans may be pleasantly surprised by the impact Orr has on the field in 2019 if he can survive the roster cuts. The Titans’ secondary room is already a little cramped, so it’s going to be difficult for Orr to crack the final 53-man roster. But if he survives and makes it to Week 1, he can make a significant impact on the field for the Titans in 2019.