The moment some Titans fans have been waiting for could be coming soon. With injuries in the wide receiver corps, the Titans are in need of bodies, and one player people keep clamoring for is Xavier Restrepo. The talented slot wide receiver went undrafted out of the University of Miami in the 2025 NFL Draft, but he was able to get an opportunity with the Tennessee Titans to make the team outright when they brought him in as an undrafted free agent. Restrepo, who is a former college teammate of 2025 1st overall pick quarterback Cam Ward, was one that Ward asked the Titans to consider bringing in as a free agent, and the Titans agreed. Unfortunately, that opportunity did not turn into a roster spot after training camp, but it did turn into a practice squad spot, where Restreop has been all season.
And now comes the potential opportunity for Restrepo to shine. With Calvin Ridley out for the season with a broken fibula, Elic Ayomanor banged up with a hamstring issue and Chim Dike dealing with a chest contusion, Mason Kinsey and Van Jefferson were the top two wide receivers. Both have worked with Cam all offseason and during this season, but one thing they don’t have is more chemistry than Xavier Restrepo. Ward and Restrepo built beautiful chemistry together in college and when you connect with someone so seamlessly, that’s when good things happen. With Restrepo on the field, he could potentially find those open holes in zones or use his ability to run routes to get himself open and be exactly where Cam expects him to be. And with an offense that has struggled to get on the same page, that could be helpful.
While Restrepo does have chemistry with Ward, what he does not have is speed. When Restrepo was in college, he separated and made big plays, and people were in love with his ability to do so. He even showed the ability to take short passes and turn them into big plays. However, at his Pro Day, he ran a 4.83 in the 40. To give you an idea of the difference in his speed with other wide receivers, the average speed of a wide receiver in the NFL is between 4.48 to 4.51 seconds. And while the difference of three to four-tenths of a second may not seem like much, that is a huge amount of time in the NFL. The ability to separate comes in handy when running the route tree against defensive backs who are more athletic than the guys Restrepo saw in college each week, and faster, too. And although speed isn’t everything, it does help when running routes.
Will they or won’t they? That is one question everyone is waiting for the Titans to answer regarding adding Restepo to the active roster. But when that question is answered, there will be more questions until Restrepo gets out there and shows whether he can make it happen, despite his lack of speed. After all, there have been some fast, wide receivers who could not play in the NFL and get open, too.