Tennessee football: 10 toughest Vols to replace from 2020 for 2021 season
Josh Palmer. 6. player. Scouting Report. Wide receiver. Graduated/NFL. Pick Analysis. 13
New team: Los Angeles Chargers (NFL Draft Round 3, Pick 77)
Similar to the running back situation, Josh Palmer would be higher on the list if Tennessee football didn’t have lots of potential options at receiver. The return of Velus Jones Jr., expected emergence of Jalin Hyatt, spring performance of Cedric Tillman and collection of at least five other guys with potential gives Josh Heupel plenty to work with here.
However, once again, all that talent is unproven. Josh Palmer is the real deal. Losing Brandon Johnson to the UCF Knights is understandable, but Palmer was the Vols’ only real consistent deep threat last year. He successfully replaced Jauan Jennings and Marquez Callaway.
There’s a reason the Los Angeles Chargers took him so high up in the NFL Draft. He was the first Vol taken. The 6’1″ 210-pound Canadian has developed impressively at the position, and if he had more experience earlier on and was in a better system, he would have been a superstar.
In each of the past three years, Palmer went over 450 yards despite being the No. 3 receiver two of those seasons. He also scored seven touchdowns over that span. Again, remember what he was working with. Doing just that was highly impressive, and the Vols still need to find a deep threat to be able to replace him.