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Tennessee football roster: Projecting Vols’ 2019 2-deep depth chart

By Caleb Calhoun

LEXINGTON, KY - OCTOBER 28: Daniel Bituli #35 and Nigel Warrior #18 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrate a recovered fumble against the Kentucky Wildcats at Commonwealth Stadium on October 28, 2017 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LEXINGTON, KY - OCTOBER 28: Daniel Bituli #35 and Nigel Warrior #18 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrate a recovered fumble against the Kentucky Wildcats at Commonwealth Stadium on October 28, 2017 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Slot Receiver

1. Josh Palmer

Junior, 6’2″ 204 pounds

Tennessee football has a by-committee running back set and a slot receiver who doubles as a wideout off the bench. That’s why we had just three wideouts and now have two slot receivers in our depth chart projections. It evens things out. Josh Palmer is a unique case for a slot receiver given that size we’re talking about. He was the most improved player in the spring.

An elite talent who was raw coming from Canada, Palmer just needed some consistency in offensive schemes to develop. He’s under his third offensive coordinator, but playing his second year in a pro-style offense was enough consistency. He emerged enough to be the starting slot receiver, which Jim Chaney will love in the middle with a guy who provides such a size mismatch.

2. Tyler Byrd

Senior, 5’11” 203 pounds

Tyler Byrd never really emerged as the elite athlete in the slot many fans thought he would be after seeing him in 2016. However, it didn’t help that Jeremy Pruitt moved him over to defensive back last spring, which set him back for 2018. Now, Byrd is back in the slot, and although he’s competing with Jordan Murphy, he’s shown enough talent for us to say he’ll be the No. 2 guy here.

If Chaney needs to add more speed and spread out the offense, which he’ll likely do, he can move Palmer over as the No. 3 wideout and have Byrd play in the slot. So look for Byrd to still get some playing time and find ways to be effective.

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