Rookie Nicholas Petit-Frere has character trait Titans should value. Here's why.
Welcome to Talkin' Titans. This is Tennessee Titans beat reporter Ben Arthur. In today's newsletter, I offer my thoughts on third-round rookie Nicholas Petit-Frere.
After the Titans selected Nicholas Petit-Frere in April's draft, a reporter asked the former Ohio State standout what he envisioned his role being in Tennessee.
Petit-Frere explained on the Zoom call that he was asked similar questions throughout the pre-draft process. And he reiterated what he told those clubs. He said one of his goals was to be the best teammate he could be.
It's a cliche statement. We hear athletes say it all the time, often without a true unpacking. Sometimes, the ‘good teammate’ line is used to deflect questions about individual or role expectations.
But at organized team activities Wednesday, the third-round pick revealed that he recently took some of the Titans' undrafted offensive linemen and defensive lineman Haskell Garrett – his college teammate – out to dinner at Fifth & Taylor in Germantown.
He footed the bill – and it wasn’t cheap.
“Around $800-900,” Petit-Frere estimated. “It was a great steak dinner. We all had fun there and we all enjoyed it. But those are the kinds of things we want to make sure we do: that we interact with each other off the field so that we can be great teammates and have a great family.”
“I was the one that had (the most) money at the moment,” he added. “ I just wanted to take care of them. They’ve been so great to me. I’ve had great friends here. I hope that they’re friends that I make for a long time, not just during (the offseason).”
It’s a cool example of a recently signed, early round draft pick treating teammates who make less and have fewer guarantees in a league where security is fleeting. And it’s a story more typical of veterans – not rookies who haven’t played a down of NFL football.
And apparently, that dinner was one of the first big purchases he’s made since getting drafted. The other? A pendant for his mother.
"It matches the colors of the Tennessee Titans – the two-tone blue – and also it’s my mom’s birth month and my birth month,” Petit-Frere explained. “So it just kind of works out how I came here. It matches the birth month color of me and my mom and also two-tone.”
I don’t know if Petit-Frere, the player, will pan out. If he’ll live up to the expectations that come with being a third-round pick. If he can help a changing Titans’ offensive line that must improve.
But young players who put actions behind their words are always a good sign. They’re critical for teams, like the Titans, who seek to win at the highest level.
As it so happens, being a great teammate wasn’t the only goal he told local reporters about that day he was drafted.
The other?
“My number one goal is to win a Super Bowl,” he said at the time.
Any questions or inquiries about the Titans' offseason? Send me a note. I'd be happy to answer. My email is BArthur@tennessean.com.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Rookie Nicholas Petit-Frere has character trait Titans should value
