When the Tennessee Titans revealed the unfortunate news of the team placing three players on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list as rookies and injured players reported to training camp on Saturday, cornerback and 2021 first-round pick Caleb Farley was not among them.
The Virginia Tech product was limited to just three games last season after suffering a torn ACL in Week 6 against the Buffalo Bills. However, he’s apparently been given a clean bill of health heading into training camp.
Farley, 23, hasn’t played much football over the last two seasons. He sat out the COVID-19 2020 season and underwent back surgery before the NFL draft, which limited him for much of the offseason.
Farley likely would have been a top-10 pick otherwise, and the Titans were fortunate to grab him with the No. 22 overall selection, but they have yet to see much of what he can do on the field.
According to Heavy’s Matt Lombardo, Farley has been tabbed by unnamed scouts and executives as one of six players who will be breakout stars in 2022.
Here’s the write-up from Lombardo, which includes a positive note from an NFC scout.
Had Caleb Farley been healthy when the 2021 draft began, there would have been little chance that he’d slide out of the top 10 selections and the Tennessee Titans likely would have had no chance to scoop him up with the No. 22 overall pick.
But Farley wasn’t healthy; he was dealing with an injured back. And the Titans likely walked out of the draft feeling they came away with one of the biggest steals.
However, Farley is just getting back on the field after suffering a torn MCL in Week 6 last season, ending his rookie campaign after just four games. At 6-foot-2 and 197 pounds, Farley has all the attributes of a top NFL cornerback.
“When you watch [Farley] it’s easy to see that he’s uber-talented,” an NFC scout told Heavy. “But the real shame is how injuries have derailed him. If he’s healthy, he has a really good chance to be really special.”
At 6-foot-2 and 197 pounds, Farley has the ideal size to play the cornerback position in the National Football League, and while his ability to stay healthy remains a concern, his talent has never been the question.
Heading into the 2022 campaign, Farley appears to have a loose grip on the starting cornerback spot opposite Kristian Fulton.
He should have every opportunity to prove himself and show that he was worthy of the first-round selection, but 2022 second-round pick Roger McCreary could challenge him for playing time.
