I am so tired of everyone saying the Titans didn’t do enough in the offseason to make their wide receiver core better. Mostly because they are right. However we did get some pass catchers that I think can make a difference for the offense. In free agency we signed Chris Moore and resigned NWI. Moore had his best season last year with the Texans, where he had 48 receptions for 548 yards with 2 touchdowns. NWI we all should be familiar with, as he has played the last 3 seasons at Tennessee. Last season he had 25 receptions 397 yards and 3 touchdowns. So our free agent acquisitions didn’t bring much to get excited about. As I said before though we did get a lot of pass catchers in the draft.
We will start with Tajae Spears, who played last year at Tulane, had 22 receptions 256 yards and 2 touchdowns. That’s an 11.6 yard per play average. Plus as we have heard and seen from the offseason so far, we know he is going to be lining up in multiple spots on offense while also catching the ball out of the backfilled.
Josh Wyle played for Cincinnati last year. He had 32 receptions for 326 yards and 3 touchdowns. That’s a 10.2 yard per play average. At 6’ 6” and a 34 inch vertical I expect him to be a redzone weapon.
Colton Dowell is now the only wide receiver that was drafted. He was taken in 7th round. Last year he played at UT-Martin, where he amassed 67 receptions for 1,036 yards and 6 touchdowns. He is 6’ 3” 215lbs, runs a 4.42 40 and had a 9.78 RAS score. I am expecting big things from him, especially since it has been reported he has been paling around with Treylon Burks. Burks said of Dowell that he knows the playbook from front to back already.
We also picked up an undrafted free agent Jacob Copeland from Maryland. Last season he had 26 receptions for 376 yards and 2 touchdowns. His best season came as a junior when he played for Florida and led all Gators with 41 receptions 642 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also has 4.42 40 speed so he could be a contributor, but we will have to see.
With all that, Ryan Tannehill should have substantially more targets. More targets means getting the ball out faster, which means less sacks and pressures. Not to mention the new hire of offensive coordinator Tim Kelly. Who is said to have installed a new offense with lots of motion, and gadget plays. All of this is good news for Titans fans, and something they should be getting excited about.
