Unless you're in the thick of Titans country, the name Kyle Philips may not immediately ring a bell to you. The 2022 fifth-round pick out of UCLA was turning heads for his new team around this time last year and was able to carry it over for a moment during the regular season, catching six of his nine targets for 66 yards in a Week 1 loss against the New York Giants. However, injuries then took a major chunk out of Philips' rookie season and he managed to play just 33 offensive snaps the rest of the year.
"Maybe I am a forgotten guy to some, but I don't pay attention to that," Philips said of his outlook within Tennessee's offense for the 2023 season, via the official team website. "I focus on what I need to, which is to learn this offense, get to know some new teammates, and get better every day."
Throughout the offseason, Philips has been working to build muscle to give himself a better chance of being on the field from wire to wire. The 5-foot-11 receiver trained in San Diego for the first part of the 2023 offseason before getting to Nashville for OTAs and minicamp. He improved his diet and is looking to start the year around 195 pounds after being in the low 180s as a rookie.
"I don't get hurt too often, but it happened [last year] and it's out of the way now. I was able to take what I could from it, grow from it, and learn going forward," Philips said. "This offseason has been putting good healthy weight on, learning this offense, conditioning, running routes, and getting used to new teammates."
If Philips is able to remain healthy, he could prove to be an X-factor within a Titans offense that drastically needs help at the wide receiver position. Tennessee has 2022 first-round pick Treylon Burks atop the depth chart, but the team didn't make any substantial additions throughout the offseason at that spot. Along with Philips and Burks, the team has Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Chris Moore, Racey McMath and seventh-round pick Colton Dowell.