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One Titans Player's Recent Success Not a Surprise to Robert Saleh
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- One Titans Player's Recent Success Not a Surprise to Robert Saleh
(ANDREW NELLES / THE TENNESSEAN)
A few players for the Tennessee Titans have had an instant impact already.
This offseason, there was the success story of right guard Fernando Carmona . Carmona hasn't been perfect so far in the regular season and is still learning, but the fact that he's already starting is a good sign.
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In Week 1, Carmona became the first offensive lineman drafted in the fourth round or later to start in Week 1 of their rookie season in Titans history.
Then, there's been Anthony Hill Jr.
Hill was forced into action when Cedric Gray was ruled out for the New York Jets game with a concussion. He led the team with 16 total tackles and added another 10 on Sunday.
Hill has now started the last two games.
Lately, there's been a second-year player who's been getting a lot of attention. Receiver Elic Ayomanor had an impressive game on Sunday.
In Week 1, he didn't do much, but he caught the Titans' only touchdown pass of the game. He had only two catches against the Philadelphia Eagles but finished with 69 receiving yards.
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Whenever the Titans needed a big play, Ayomanor stepped up. One of his best plays was hurdling an Eagles defender in the fourth quarter.
Ayomanor has provided a spark on offense so far. Robert Saleh hasn't been surprised in the least that Ayomanor has been creating plays on offense at Monday's Zoom .
"No, I like Elic a lot, man," Saleh said. "You know, he's a big, powerful receiver. You're not going to find a lot. You'll be hard pressed to find a receiver in this league that works as hard as he does. Trains as hard as he does, especially in the run game. You know, I think he's improving every single day. Wish he could have sealed off that one catch in the end zone. Wish Cam would have given him a better ball, but I think it was in the first half after the interception, but overall, I love his mindset. I love his work ethic. I love how deliberate he is and how hard he works at his craft. And it's good to see him getting some positive affirmations on game day."
Ayomanor stepped into a big role for the Titans last year as a rookie.
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He didn't get much playing time at first, but Van Jefferson struggled early on, and Ayomanor replaced him. Once Tyler Lockett was traded at the deadline, it allowed Chimere Dike to see the field more often.
Ayomanor ended up starting 14 games for the Titans last year. He finished with 515 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
His receiving yards were the second-most on the team.
There were concerns about how much Ayomanor would see the field, given how much the Titans upgraded their receiving corps in the offseason.
They added Wan'Dale Robinson and Carnell Tate, who were expected to start over him. Ayomanor started the last game, and with how he's playing, he may get the start in future games.
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If Ayomanor keeps this up, it'll be hard for the Titans to resist giving him more snaps on offense.
The second-year receiver is doing his part to ensure he doesn't get lost in the Titans' receiver room.
The Titans will need more big plays from him as the season goes on.
