Tennessee Titans training camp observations: Highlighting the very good and very bad from red zone
Proche, a veteran wide receiver who's had previous stops with Baltimore and Cleveland, has been one of the more impressive standouts down the roster through five days of Tennessee Titans training camp practices. He's getting reps on special teams, where he's worked a fairly accountable kick and punt returner in past seasons. And he's making plays on offense as a slot receiver option, albeit most of the time working with quarterbacks Brandon Allen and Tim Boyle.
In practice five, Proche started to make more of a habit of engaging with the Titans fans. After one catch on an out route, Proche kept running through the sideline all the way to the barricade fans are watching from behind, shook a kid's hand, then jogged back into the field of play. A little bit later, Proche tossed a kid a bottle of Gatorade from the sideline. And at another point, Proche signed an autograph during practice.
There aren't many folks out there who own James Proche II Titans jerseys. But the receiver at the very least seems to be politicking for some love from the fans.
Here are The Tennessean's football observations from Tennessee Titans training camp practice No. 5.
ROSTER THOUGHTS: Tennessee Titans roster projection: How 53-man depth chart looks after training camp Week 1
Titans red zone thoughts
Quarterback Cam Ward and the first-team offense struggled to move the ball in the red zone, but the down-roster offensive players found more success. Ward had a pass tipped and intercepted on his first red zone snap, and followed that with three plays that successively went: Tony Pollard run for no gain, pass breakup after Ward had to step up in the pocket because of rushers and a coverage sack that forced a field goal.
Allen and Boyle had a little more success. Receivers Bryce Oliver, Mason Kinsey and Proche all caught red zone touchdowns in tight windows, with Oliver and Proche going up for contested catches over the middle in traffic, and Kinsey muscling his way through one-on-one coverage against rookie Jermari Harris in the corner of the end zone. Kinsey's touchdown triggered a huge whole-receiver-room celebration while defenders pleaded with refs to reconsider, not thinking Kinsey secured the ball across the goal line.
Players on the rise
Here, in numerical order, is a list of players who've either seen their usage rates increase throughout training camp, are being used more in training camp than they were during OTAs and minicamp or have impressed in their limited roles enough to be worth watching in preseason games:
OLB Oluwafemi Oladejo
WR James Proche II
S Kevin Winston Jr.
CB Gabe Jeudy-Lally
S Kendell Brooks
CB Darrell Baker Jr.
LB Cedric Gray
OL Sam Mustipher
DL Isaiah Raikes
OLB Titus Leo
DL James Lynch
OLB Ali Gaye
Stray observations
Offensive lineman Blake Hance missed a second straight practice with a calf injury, and Raikes was absent with an undisclosed injury as well. Ridley left with a lower leg injury that that team was continuing to evaluate after practice, but a coach told The Tennessean after practice that Ridley was just dealing with a cramp and he didn't expect the issue to be serious.
Guard Peter Skoronski stood out for the second straight day in pass blocking 1-on-1 drills, putting together a solid couple of days. Defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat had a highlight in that session when he planted a blocker on his back with a bullrush.
The Ridley versus Jarvis Brownlee Jr. competition in WR/DB 1-on-1s was a fun battle. Ward threw Ridley's way three times in that session, only completing one pass. One of the incompletions came on an overthrow and one came with Brownlee in tight coverage, while the completion came as a result of Ridley finding open space in the middle of the field and speeding away.
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X @nicksuss. Subscribe to the Talkin' Titans newsletter for updates sent directly to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Titans training camp observations: Red zone stars, risers up the depth chart
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