NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Nick Westbrook-Ikhine stood at his stall inside the Titans locker room wearing a Honda Accord t-shirt. It was a symbol for just how reliable the fifth-year wide receiver has become in the Tennessee offense.
“A buddy of mine showed me a tweet from when I made the 53-man roster (at the end of training camp),” Westbrook-Ikhine said. “Something about a Honda Accord or something like that. It might not look pretty, but it will get you from A to B. And so that’s what I’m here for to help get us from A to B.
Westbrook-Ikhine helped deliver just the second win of the season for the Titans Sunday against the Patriots. His fourth quarter touchdown reception from Mason Rudolph briefly put the Titans ahead in a game they would go on to win 20-17 in overtime.
It was NWI’s fourth touchdown catch in the last four games. In those four games he’s caught 10 balls for 108 yards after not receiving a single target in the team’s first four games of the season.
“Coaches have put me in a position of trusting me to go out there and be a starter on the team,” Westbrook-Ikhine said. “Coming in I probably wasn’t expecting that knowing the roster that we had. Really, I just go to work and do my best to try to help this team win.”
Westbrook-Ikhine has developed a reputation for himself as a hardworking, reliable receiver and a willing blocker, first for Mike Vrabel’s coaching staff and now under Brian Callahan. After seeing limited time as a rookie after being elevated from the practice squad, NWI caught 91 passes the past three seasons as a secondary receiving threat behind guys like A.J. Brown and DeAndre Hopkins.
But Westbrook-Ikhine was expected to have a lesser role in Callahan’s offense this season with the additions of Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd to go along side Hopkins and former first round pick Treylon Burks. But an injury to Burks and the trade of Hopkins to Kansas City has opened the door for a bigger workload.
“On paper you can find bigger, faster, stronger, better, etc. but you don’t take into account that they’re just incredibly smart football players,” Callahan said of reliable, smart players like Westbrook-Ikhine. “They know what to do. They’re consistent and they’re reliable, and those things are often much more important.”
Westbrook-Ikhine is no stranger to having to work for what he gets. The Florida native tore his ACL in the middle of his career at Indiana and had to enter the NFL as an undrafted free agent. He has played every year of his career on a one-year contract, returning to Tennessee each offseason needing to carve out his role once again.
“He’s a pretty remarkable story for what it takes to succeed in this league and how you continue to show up and perform and be consistent,” Callahan said. “I wish more people would talk about it outside of this building.”
In a league full of high dollar wide receivers, one might compare to a Corvette or Porsche, NWI has find his niche. And Mr. Reliable is just fine with being that Honda Accord that gets the job done.
“I feel blessed to have this opportunity,” Westbrook-Ikhine said. “(I) try to take advantage of it. I feel like that’s just how the good Lord made me.”
