Nicholas Singleton Camp Update — August 16: A Standout Tuesday, a Sore Saturday

Nicholas Singleton made Jim Wyatt's standout list this week. In Tuesday's joint practice against the 49ers, the fifth-round rookie ripped off multiple impressive runs and scored a touchdown, per Wyatt's 10 Observations at TennesseeTitans.com, which is the first genuinely loud thing Singleton has done as a professional. The quieter follow-up: by Saturday he was managing soreness alongside Tony Pollard and Jacob Martin, held out but expected back soon, per Wyatt.

The June preview kept its promises small on Singleton, and we will keep them small here. He arrived as Penn State's all-time leader in total touchdowns and all-purpose yards, records that once belonged to Saquon Barkley, with a Senior Bowl foot fracture that was surgically repaired and cleared before the draft. Our position was that nobody can tell you what a rookie produces, least of all a fifth-rounder behind two backs his head coach has publicly called his bellcows. Pollard handled 275 touches last year and Tyjae Spears another hundred 17. What we said to watch was special teams, because a kick-return job means he is active and involved, and any week Pollard's touch count dips, because that is the door.

This week nudged the file without changing it. The good runs matter because the question hanging over Singleton was always whether the burst survived the foot, and a defense as good as San Francisco's is a real test audience. Making the standout list in that setting is evidence the tools translated. The soreness matters less, given the team's own expected-back-soon framing, but a rookie coming off foot surgery who misses a Saturday is a rookie we mention honestly. And the door we told you to watch stayed shut: Pollard scored on the opening drive Thursday and Spears ripped a 25-yard run, so the two backs ahead of him both had good weeks too.

Does the June read hold? UNCHANGED — a lottery ticket that flashed is still a lottery ticket, and the crowded room above him got no less crowded. Next week we watch two things: whether Singleton returns to full practice ahead of the Seahawks game, and whether he gets return work or a real carry load when Tennessee plays its second preseason game. We'll check next Sunday.

_Data via nflverse._