From small-school standouts to Power Five breakouts, a new crop of hungry undrafted playmakers battles to join Tennessee’s long lineage of underdog success stories.
The Tennessee Titans added several undrafted free agents following the 2026 NFL Draft.
At receiver, they have Tyren Montgomery (John Carroll) and Hank Beatty (Illinois). Then, there's offensive tackles Aamil Wagner (Notre Dame) and Rasheed Miller (Louisville).
On defense, there are linebackers Sean Brown (N.C. State), Mani Powell (Purdue), and Shad Banks Jr. (UTSA). The UDFAs in the secondary are Jeadyn Lukus (Clemson), Bishop Fitzgerald (USC), Latrell McCutchin Sr. (Houston) and Jalen McMurray (Tennessee).
While they are currently signed to the roster, all of these players will have to earn their spots during training camp. However, if there's one thing we know about the Titans in recent years, it's that they love UDFA wideouts.
Montgomery and Beatty could be the latest to keep that trend going as we head towards training camp.
Montgomery's story isn't finished yet, but he's had a long road to the NFL.
He initially had no plans of playing college football and didn't even play high school football. He wanted to walk on at LSU to play college basketball.
However, his mother fell sick, and then Covid-19 shut down the 2020 season. He then returned home and was playing catch in the backyard with his brother, who joked that he should play football.
Montgomery eventually joined Nicholls State in 2022 and then transferred to John Carroll in 2024. He left John Carroll with 2,599 receiving yards and 32 touchdowns in two seasons.
For Beatty, he comes to the Titans after a productive final season with Illinois.
Up until last year, he hadn't finished with over 300 receiving yards. Then, he broke out in 2025 and ended with 864 receiving yards and three touchdowns last season.
Let's take a look at some of the recent UDFA WRs the Titans have signed to the roster.
Mason Kinsey has become a fan favorite after joining the Titans as a UDFA in 2020 out of Berry College. He was waived during final roster cuts that year and joined the New England Patriots' practice squad but was released in October.
He then came back to the Titans in January of 2021 and has been a reserve receiver ever since.
Then, there's Bryce Oliver.
He went undrafted in the 2024 NFL Draft after playing college football for the Kentucky Wildcats and Youngstown State Penguins. He started as a special teamer in 2024 but then worked his way into the WR rotation for the Titans last season.
Unfortunately, he suffered a knee injury in November but recovered just ahead of the regular-season finale against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
More recently, Cam Ward's college teammate at the Miami Hurricanes, Xavier Restrepo, became the latest UDFA WR to join the team. He had consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in his final two years at Miami, but went undrafted.
He had injury issues in his last two years in college, and then dealt with hamstring tightness as he prepared for the NFL draft. He didn't attend the NFL Combine and had lingering injury issues at Miami's Pro Day, as he was unable to run at full speed, finishing with a 4.80 40-yard dash time.
He was one of the UDFAs in 2025 but was waived in roster cuts. However, he was added to the practice squad and elevated to the active roster in November of his first season.
The odds are definitely stacked against Montgomery and Beatty when it comes to making the 53-man roster. They will have to compete for a spot in the rotation with K.J. Osborn, Lance McCutcheon, Restrepo, Kinsey and Courtney Jackson.
It won't be easy, but we've seen this movie before. Maybe in a few months from now, we'll be talking about how Beatty and Montgomery kept the trend going.
