The Tennessee Titans are about to open training camp, and one of the more interesting names to keep an eye on is a seventh-round pick who already has people talking.
Rookies are set to report to Vanderbilt Health Football Center on July 23rd, with veterans joining on July 28th. That gives the Titans’ first-year group a head start, and it also gives Robert Saleh an early look at how the class is settling in for the 2026 campaign.
Most of the draft spotlight has landed where you’d expect. Carnell Tate, Keldric Faulk, and Anthony Hill Jr. were the Titans’ three selections inside the first 60 picks, and both Tate and Faulk look positioned to play right away.
But the buzz isn’t limited to the top of the board. Jaren Kanak, taken in the seventh round, has quietly become a name worth tracking in a crowded tight end room.
Kanak’s path to the NFL is anything but ordinary. He started out as a run-first high school quarterback, moved to linebacker in college, then flipped back to offense and settled in at tight end for his final season at Oklahoma. That last switch paid off, because he showed real promise as a receiver.
There’s still plenty of work ahead. Kanak is still learning the finer points of the position, including route running and functional in-line blocking.
Even so, the traits jump off the screen. His toughness stands out, and so do his hands.
He was rewarded for that production with Third-team All-SEC honors after catching 44 passes for 533 yards in 13 starts.
The challenge in Tennessee is obvious. Gunnar Helm is expected to make a significant jump in his second season, and the Titans also brought in Daniel Bellinger on a three-year, $24 million deal in free agency. Bellinger is also reuniting with new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.
That leaves Kanak fighting for one of the 53-man roster spots at tight end. To stick, he’ll need to help on special teams and keep showing that his offensive upside is real. For a late-round pick, that’s the kind of path that can turn into something bigger.
In Other News...
Titans Suddenly Have A Worrying Femi Oladejo Problem Again
Femi Oladejos first spring with the Titans was supposed to be about getting a head start on a major position change, but a hamstring injury kept him out of those practices and slowed the process before it really got rolling. The second-round pick is being asked to move from 3-4 outside linebacker to a 3-4 defensive end role, which makes every rep valuable as Tennessee tries to see how quickly his game can translate.
Robert Saleh said the real development for Oladejo will come once training camp opens on July 29 and the pads go on, which is where the Titans will finally get a better read on the rookies fit. For a player already trying to learn a new spot, the missed spring work only adds to the pressure to make up ground fast when camp begins. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Finally Enter Camp Without Their Biggest Cornerback Burden
Training camp arrives with the Titans no longer carrying the same cornerback uncertainty that has shadowed them since L'Jarius Sneed came aboard. The expectation was that he would stabilize the secondary, but recurring knee and lower-body injuries kept him from becoming the dependable presence Tennessee had envisioned, and the team spent too much of the last two seasons trying to work around his availability.
Sneeds limited time on the field forced the Titans to think differently about how they build the position, and the result is a roster that looks better equipped to absorb setbacks. Even if the cornerback room still has plenty to prove, Tennessee enters camp with more depth and a little less pressure to have one player carry the entire burden. [Read more 🡒]
This Under The Radar Titans Defender Suddenly Feels Too Important To Ignore
Jaylen Harrell spent much of 2025 in a rotational edge role, but he made the kind of late push that tends to linger in a coaching staffs memory. Over the final five games, he piled up five sacks while also handling a heavy special teams load, logging 228 snaps and giving Tennessee value in more than one phase.
Now the challenge is less about what Harrell showed than where he fits. He enters 2026 training camp fighting for a roster spot in a crowded edge group, with Jermaine Johnson, Keldric Faulk and Femi Oladejo all in the mix and Jacob Martin also potentially part of the conversation. Harrell has already made himself harder to overlook, but the Titans still have to decide whether that late-season surge was enough to carve out a real place in the rotation. [Read more 🡒]