​Titans rookie tight end Gunnar Helm, selected in the fourth round of the 2025 draft, made an impressive impact in his debut season by appearing in 16 games and earning 10 starts. He finished the year with 44 receptions, ranking him fourth on the team and marking a franchise record for rookie tight ends. Helm also compiled 357 receiving yards, placing him fourth in team receiving yardage among players with tight end duties. Across all 16 games he played, Helm reached the end zone twice and recorded at least one catch in every appearance, underscoring his consistency and reliability as a playmaker in his first year.
Helm remains hungry for more and isn’t resting on his laurels. “There’s always something to go out there and do,” he told the team’s website, via reporter Jim Wyatt. “There’s always something to prove, and there’s somebody always coming for your spot.” The 2025 season brings a new context for Helm: a new head coach in Robert Saleh, a new offensive coordinator in Brian Daboll, and a refreshed cadre of tight ends competing for snaps. Helm is joined by veterans Daniel Bellinger and Kylen Granson, along with rookie Jaren Kanak, as well as teammates David Martin-Robinson and Joel Wilson, all added to the roster during the offseason in what shapes up to be a dynamic competition at the position.
Helm is especially encouraged by Daboll’s offense, which is known for integrating tight ends into the game plan. He believes the coordinator’s approach will provide opportunities to build on his rookie season and expand his role as a versatile receiving threat. Helm remarked that Daboll’s track record demonstrates a willingness to utilize tight ends in a variety of ways, citing high-profile examples from other teams to illustrate the potential for a tight end to function in receiver-like roles. He pointed to players such as Rob Gronkowski during his time in New England, Dalton Kincaid, and Dawson Knox in Buffalo, as examples of tight ends who have been effectively used in multifaceted ways within the offense.
The tantalizing prospect for Helm is not only continuing his development but maximizing the way the offense deploys the tight end position. With Daboll guiding the scheme, Helm believes there will be more instances where he’s moving around the formation, creating mismatches and expanding the offense’s playmaking capabilities. This optimism comes from a clear understanding that the tight end position in Daboll’s system can mirror receiver-style production, which could translate into higher targets, more receptions, and increased yardage for Helm in his sophomore season.
As Helm navigates this offseason and prepares for the new coaching regime, he remains focused on refining his route running, blocking, and overall football intelligence to seize any opportunity that comes his way. With a strong rookie year to build upon, and with the added incentive of a proven offensive system that has demonstrated success with versatile tight ends, Helm is poised to take on a more prominent role for the Titans in 2026. Fans and analysts will watch closely to see how he and the Titans’ revamped tight end corps integrate within Daboll’s offense, and whether Helm can push beyond his rookie benchmarks to emerge as one of the division’s notable breakout players.