Titans Rookie TE Ready to Jump In

The Tennessee Titans are thrilled to have Texas tight end Gunnar Helm on the roster, especially with the team's uncertainty at the position beyond this season.

Helm was taken in the fourth round of the draft and could look to take the starting job away from Chig Okonkwo either this year or next, as he will be a free agent at season's end.

Helm is excited to get his feet wet with the Titans this season in hopes of getting better moving forward.

"I talked to a lot of NFL vets throughout this process, throughout the combine, post-combine, post-Pro Day about just what to expect," Helm said via team reporter Jim Wyatt.

"All of them kind of said the same thing: The biggest difference from college to the National Football League is not only the speed, but it's really attention to detail. It's all mental at this level, so just grasping the new playbook and figuring out the concepts. … The chemistry, the timing all of it, just kind of falls back on that mental piece."

Helm is putting a lot of pride in the process, and that's exactly what teams want to see from their rookies. The Titans also hope to get versatility from their rookies, and Helm is willing to play in whatever role is needed from him.

"It's however Coach (Brian) Callahan wants to use me," Helm said via Wyatt.

"I've always been super blessed to have great hands. It was like that in high school, and obviously when I got to college. I always had that trust in myself – I've been on the JUGS (machine) quite a bit, been on the JUGS since I've been here."

Helm will participate in the team's OTA's next week to inch closer towards training camp in late July.