Standing in front of his locker after the Tennessee Titans’ 26-16 preseason loss to Carolina Saturday, Tajae Sharpe looked comfortable as a collection of Tennessee media asked the fifth-round draft choice about his attention-grabbing start to preseason.
The former UMass receiver has looked comfortable doing just about everything so far in his brief professional career. He’s led the Titans in receiving in two preseason games, including catching six passes for 68 yards against the defending NFC champions Saturday. Slated to start, Sharpe has had eight passes thrown his way, all by Marcus Mariota, in the two contests and he’s caught all eight.
“I wanted to come out and just make a statement and be a reliable target for Marcus and the rest of my teammates,” Sharpe said. “Day in and day out, just continue to work and grind throughout the week. For him to have that trust in me, means a lot. I don’t want to look like a rookie. I just want to look like an NFL receiver. Preparation is key. I’m just going to continue to work hard and be accountable to my teammates. I want to be where I’m supposed to be at all times. With him, being the great quarterback that he is, he’s going to find you if you’re open. I just want to always be a reliable target. That all starts in practice.”
So far so good.
“He makes it easy. He’s a very versatile athlete,” Mariota said. “He creates separation in and out of his routes. We’re going to continue to expect these kinds of things out of him.”
Titans coach Mike Mularkey has taken notice too.
“He’s a very good route runner. What you’re seeing is what he’s done in practice. He made some big catches today, catches we haven’t had here in a while,” Mularkey said. “It’s a trust factor. (Marcus) believes (Tajae) is going to be in the right place at the right time and since he’s been here, he has.”
Sharpe credited his work ethic for his smooth transition so far.
“I have confidence in myself. I know the things I can do. I work extremely hard. That’s something I take pride in. I’m not 6-foot-6, 240 and I don’t run a 4.2 so I always knew I had to put in a little extra work. It’s something I’m used to,” Sharpe said. In the NFL “you have to put in a lot more time watching film. This is your job. It’s not like college where you have to worry about school and things like that. This is the only thing you have to focus on. This is something I love. I love being around the guys. This is a great organization. As much as I can be around football the better for me.”
He wasn’t surprised he fell to the fifth round.
“Going into the draft, I expected it coming out of UMass, a smaller school, not playing in the SEC, but I’m confident in my abilities,” he said. “I know the things I can do on the field. The Titans took a chance on my I’m going to give them 100 percent every day.”
Sharpe said he’s not intimidated by the increase in level.
“It’s still football. It’s the game I’ve been playing since I was a young kid. It’s just at the highest level now. Just go out there relax, be confident in the work I’ve put in and go out and have fun,” he said. “When you come out and realize you can play with the best guys in the world, it means a lot. I have great guys in the room that are helping me day in and day out, guys like Harry Douglas and Andre Johnson. I just look at them and how they approach the game and how they approach work every single day. I just try to pick their brains and learn as much as I can from them and try to follow their footsteps.”
The Titans are at Oakland, Saturday and at Miami Sept. 1 to close out preseason. Sharpe is scheduled to make his regular season debut on Sept. 11 against the Minnesota Vikings in Nashville.
Material from postgame interviews were used in this report.
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage