'He's earned the role - How rookie receiver Elic Ayomanor has played himself into a starting role for the Tennessee Titans offense

Veterans Calvin Ridley and Tony Pollard are the only proven threats that Tennessee's offense has on-hand.

"You've got to move Calvin around, first of all," offensive coordinator Nick Holz said on Tuesday. "I think we'll move him around in different formations, which we really got to at different points last year. Those other guys, they've got to make plays against man and match coverage, right? You've got to win your one-on-one match-ups. It could be all of those receivers. I think they'll all be up. The tight ends are gonna be up, the backs are gonna be up. If they're taking two guys to really take away one guy, you've got to win. The numbers are in our favor to win those other match-ups."

Easier said than done.

With third-year running back Tyjae Spears sidelined with an ankle injury and on Injured Reserve for the team's first four games of the season, Pollard is already going to shoulder a heavier burden than he should have to. Teams will fixate on taking away Ridley and Spears immediately. Ayomanor and others must prove themselves capable of taking advantage of the match-ups that extra attention on their teammates might create.

Ayomanor played 66 offensive snaps in the Titans three preseason games.

48 of those plays came with the fourth-round pick out of Stanford split out wide. The other 18 saw Ayomanor line-up in the slot. He was targeted 10 times and caught five of those passes for 72 yards. Three of those five receptions gave Tennessee's offense a fresh set of downs.

The Titans open the regular season on September 7 at the Denver Broncos.

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