Greg Brainos believes Chig Okonkwo is finally set for liftoff under new head coach Brian Callahan. Okonkwo ranked sixth among tight ends in yards per route run (2.05) over the final five games once Callahan started calling passing concepts late last year. Brainos expects Tennessee’s pass rate to jump from a league-low 50% to the 58–60% range Callahan ran in Cincinnati, especially if No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward wins the job. Beyond 30-year-old Calvin Ridley and aging Tyler Lockett, the Titans depth chart is full of rookies, leaving a massive middle-of-the-field target void. With TD-vulture Nick Westbrook-Ikhine now in Miami, Brainos projects a 17% target share and six-plus red-zone looks for Okonkwo, making him a screaming value in Round 13 as a third tight end with legit top-eight upside.

JSU recommended pairing Chig Okonkwo with late-round QB Cam Ward as a TE3 when the Titan slips past ADP. His thesis: Tennessee’s offensive line looks markedly better after two draft picks and a free-agent center, giving Ward more time to attack downfield seams where Okonkwo thrives (career 7.0 yards after catch per reception). With Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and his seven touchdowns gone, 16 red-zone targets are up for grabs, and JSU expects Okonkwo to inherit many of them. All he needs is one or two of last year’s 21-point spike weeks to crack Best Ball optimals, which makes him an ideal final-round dart with Ward.

Erickson pegged Chig Okonkwo as one of his favorite late tight-end sleepers. He pointed to Okonkwo’s mini-breakout over Tennessee’s final three 2024 games (17% target share and the TE8 in fantasy points during that stretch) and emphasized that the SAME Brian Callahan play-caller who fed him then is still in place. Callahan has publicly praised Okonkwo for “playing faster" and “gaining confidence,” praise Erickson trusts because Callahan was willing to blast Will Levis when the QB struggled last season. With only Calvin Ridley projected ahead of him for weekly looks and the Titans’ WR room otherwise unsettled, Erickson believes Okonkwo can realistically finish second on the team in targets during a contract year. Add in top-15 yards-after-catch efficiency among tight ends and you have a cheap best-ball option who can spike on big plays while still offering weekly volume.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound said he is consciously upping his exposure to Chig Okonkwo after noticing drafters let him drift into the Pick-180 range. Pat reminded viewers that Okonkwo was his most-rostered tight end during Underdog’s Big Board contest and believes the thesis still holds: young quarterbacks historically lean on their tight ends, and Tennessee’s offense will be steered by a second-year signal caller who should welcome an easy middle-of-the-field outlet. Pat dismissed concerns about fourth-round rookie Gunner Helms, calling the addition "not a killer" to Chig’s route volume, and pointed out that the rest of the TE room offers little after-catch juice. Because flashy late-round names like Terence Ferguson and Theo Johnson are drawing more attention, Pat is grabbing Okonkwo whenever the room forgets him, slotting Chig as a TE2/TE3 in three-tight-end builds and banking on athletic YAC upside at a rock-bottom price.

Michael Leone suggested adding Chig Okonkwo as an 18th-round third tight end, emphasizing that athletic tight ends often need a longer runway before they explode. Okonkwo closed 2023 with a mini-surge—double-digit PPR points in three of his final four games—and still ranks top-5 among tight ends in yards per route over his first two seasons. Leone likes pairing the 4.52-speed seam stretcher with late rookie QB Cam Ward on Titans builds, arguing that you get an unowned stack and a weekly ceiling that most TE3s simply do not offer. With Tennessee’s pass catchers outside DeAndre Hopkins wide-open for volume and new OC Nick Holz expected to run more play-action, Leone thinks Okonkwo can jump from last year’s 11 % target share to something in the 15-17 % range. At that price you are buying a cheap path to mid-season TE1 weeks while insulating your Best Ball roster from early-season injuries or bye-week land mines.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound cautioned that Chig Okonkwo is headed for a snap share with rookie Gunner Helm, reiterating that "Chig’s not a full-time tight end." While Pat is still willing to draft Okonkwo on Cam Ward stacks, he warned drafters to temper expectations: a two-TE rotation plus a likely run-first approach designed to ease Ward’s transition could hold Okonkwo to boom-or-bust spike weeks rather than steady TE1 production. Pat advised treating Chig as a late-round upside swing only when your roster already has bankable tight-end floor elsewhere.