By Anna Glenn Grove and Chrisian Kaposy
Day six of training camp held another promising performance from Corey Davis, more rotation on the offensive line, special guests from the NFL and some major heat.
Play of the day:
This, again, belonged to Corey Davis. Under triple coverage, Davis jumped up above Adoree’ Jackson, Malcolm Butler, and Jayon Brown and came down with a one-handed reception from Ryan Tannehill in the back of the end zone for a touchdown.
“I think that he’s trying to take that mindset that when it leaves the quarterbacks hand, it’s his ball,” Vrabel said.
NFL Officials attended practice:
The Titans were able to have officials surrounding the field throughout practice and scrimmages. They threw some flags during team drills and made it a point to talk with the team about rules changes and points of emphasis for the upcoming season. Safety is the priority for this league and the new rules will display just that.
“I think it does give it a little added emphasis when they are here that our players can learn from them,” Vrabel said. “They can understand what the league’s teaching and instructing them to do and how to do their job and what mechanics they’re looking for.”
Offensive line continues to see rotation:
With Dennis Kelly and Nate Davis leaving practice early, Taylor Lewan saw time mostly with the ones today at left tackle. Kevin Pamphille also got in some reps there as well as working at left guard. Before exiting practice short, Davis got a lot of time on the first team at right guard.
Kalif Raymond keeps showing versatility:
Raymond has proven himself as a receiver who can get open and make plays under coverage, but also as a potential threat at both punt and kickoff returns. The Titans have him practicing a lot at special teams during training camp, and he is no stranger to this as he also worked special teams in college at Holy Cross. Entering his senior year in college, he ranked third all-time at Holy Cross in career kickoff return yards (1,474), fourth in kickoff returns (66) and seventh in kickoff return average (22.3). He could be what Mike Vrabel is looking for when he mentions guys that can fill multiple roles for this team next season.
Tye Smith in the secondary:
This time last year, the Titans were placing Tye Smith on IR after suffering an injury during a training camp practice. After missing the entire 2018 season, Smith looks to be a factor in the Titans secondary plans for the 2019 campaign. Smith has been around the ball throughout the first week of practice, with his best play being a deep ball he batted away from Taywan Taylor on Saturday. The Titans re-signed Smith this offseason and it seems he will have a role in the secondary.
Jeremy McNichols could earn a spot:
With Derrick Henry missing the last five practices, someone has had to take those reps in practice. While Dion Lewis is out there, he is not the ideal back to practice the interior run game. Enter Jeremy McNichols. McNichols, who joined the Titans practice squad this past December, only has two carries for four yards in his NFL career, but has received a significant amount of carries in practice. Is this another example of Mike Vrabel mixing up the rotation and giving a younger player more reps? Possibly, but McNichols has certainly had his chance to throw his name in the hat for the third running back spot.
Titans continue roster shuffle:
After practice, the team added linebacker Jordan Williams and defensive lineman Chris Nelson. To make room on the 90-man roster, the team waived linebacker Gimel President and defensive back Jonathan Crawford, who joined the team on Saturday. With defensive lineman Frank Herron missing Thursday’s practice, this transaction gives the Titans much needed depth at defensive line entering Saturday’s scrimmage at Nissan Stadium.
