Tennessee Titans TE Chigoziem Okonkwo’s fantasy football profile through two seasons has resembled your ordinary summer golf round for us casuals. It’s largely been a struggle, but toward the end of every season (round if you want to keep with the golf analogy), enough good things happen to suck us back in.
Can you justify going in this direction if you’ve waited until the final round to address the position?
Chigoziem Okonkwo’s 2024 Fantasy Outlook
- Total Fantasy Points: 133 (78 non-PPR)
- Receptions: 55
- Receiving Yards: 623
- Receiving TDs: 3
These are PFN’s consensus projections, correct as of August 16. The most up-to-date projections can be found in our Who Should I Draft Tool.
Should You Draft Okonkwo This Year?
I mentioned the teasing nature of Okonkwo’s profile; he’s reached double-digit fantasy points (PPR) six times in his career, and five of them have come after Dec. 1.
Generally speaking, that’s a great time to shine. But without any reason to hold onto him before the winter production, those big games helped very few managers.
#Titans Will Levis ➡️ Chig Okonkwo pic.twitter.com/ksyOwBKY4J
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL)
The physical composition is encouraging, but we know that not all growth is linear. The TE position, specifically, can take time — giving us every excuse to roll the dice on Okonkwo again.
Also working in Okonkwo’s favor is the trajectory of the Titans’ offense. In one offseason, Tennessee offloaded a one-dimensional running back in favor of a more versatile option, brought in a receiver who could lead them in yards, and hired an offensive coordinator who spent 2023 with the team that ranked fifth in pass rate over expectation.
In theory, the stage is set. Or, at the very least, it’s as set as it’s ever going to be.
DeAndre Hopkins (entering his age-32 season but has earned a 26% target share in consecutive seasons for the first time in his career) and Calvin Ridley (7+ touchdowns in every season in which he’s played 6+ games) figure to be the two prioritized options in Tennessee’s passing game.
That begs the question, how many pass catchers can a Will Levis offense sustain?
Four teams finished 2023 with two top-40 PPR receivers and a top-12 tight end last season, essentially what we’re asking the Titans to do if Okonkwo is going to be deserving of a roster spot coming out of fantasy drafts.
The four quarterbacks leading those offenses — Kirk Cousins, C.J. Stroud, Trevor Lawrence, and Jalen Hurts — had a passer rating of 109.4 when throwing downfield (average: 93.0). Levis’ arm is plenty strong and more than enough to thrive down the field, but asking him to produce at that level is a bit of a stretch (2023: 79.1 passer rating on such passes, ranking 22nd).
The tight end position is as deep as it’s been in recent memory, so there’s no need to look this far down the rankings. Few teams, if any, in your league will draft multiple tight ends, which means that a Luke Musgrave or Cole Kmet type will be available late. At their ADPs, they likely offer more value.
That said, if you’re tied to streaming the position, Tennessee’s early-season schedule makes Okonkwo at least an option. They face four strong offenses in September before going on bye in Week 5.
MORE: Fantasy Team Names | Fantasy League Names
I tend to think that there aren’t enough targets in this offense to allow him to produce consistently, but that train of thought will be tested early. If the opportunities aren’t there, you cut ties after Week 4 and continue your search for streamers — there will be plenty available.
If Okonkwo is producing at a reasonable level through that first month, you have a good problem on your hands and get the bye week out of the way early. If a cheap tight end with an unknown role is your plan, Isaiah Likely has my attention with Baltimore potentially embracing more two-TE sets.
