The Tennessee Titans didn’t have a great offense last season, but it was better than previous versions. They scored 299 points in 2015, which was the worst in the AFC, but also 45 more points than they had the previous year.
And so, the Titans made some moves in the offseason to continue improving around Marcus Mariota.
The addition of a viable running back in DeMarco Murray should help the offense immediately. The improvement of last year’s rookie class of Mariota and Dorial Green-Beckham should also make the offense more potent.
The offensive line remains a question, but left tackle Laremy Tunsil is staring at them with the No. 1 overall pick in this month’s upcoming draft. With Tunsil and guys like Chance Warmack and Taylor Lewan already on the roster, the group should be a step above last years. Sure, Tunsil still has to be drafted, but there is hope.
What all of this leads to is more production from the skill players. Mariota did a solid job in his rookie season with 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, but staying healthy was a problem toward the end of the year. Hopefully, a better offensive line will help that.
Murray should also open up the passing game as the Titans haven’t been a threat to run the ball for a few years now.
Delanie Walker is a great tight end, but it’s hard to see him surpassing last year’s career totals of 94 receptions, 1,088 yards and six touchdowns. He will be 32 years old at the start of the 2016 season, so that’s something to take into account as well.
Dorial Green-Beckham and Kendall Wright will work the outsides with Rishard Matthews working the middle as the “Z” receiver. In a sense, Matthews will be replacing Harry Douglas from last year, who finished with just 36 receptions, 411 yards and two touchdowns. Douglas had 72 targets, making his catch-rate just above 50%. Not great.
With the Dolphins last year, Matthews caught 43 balls on 61 targets for 662 yards and four touchdowns. Despite his overall numbers not being too eye-popping, Matthews did start the season as Ryan Tannehill’s favorite option. It was a bit surprising since the Dolphins also had Jarvis Landry, Jordan Cameron, Kenny Stills and DeVante Parker.
Matthews was a top-20 fantasy wide receiver through the first half of the season, hitting 100 yards in Weeks 2 and 3 and three touchdowns through the first three weeks. But similar to previous years, injuries slowed him down and hurt him from doing anything more. In his short career (four seasons), Matthews has played a full season just once, in his second year. The Dolphins had no need to re-sign a mediocre receiver that was often hurt, so they let him walk.
But if Matthews can stay healthy, what could he do for the Titans? As mentioned earlier, the offense should be better than a year ago when they threw for 25 touchdowns as a team. The offense took a noticeable step back when Mariota got hurt, so that success also depends on his ability to stay healthy.
But with a full offseason under his belt, Mariota probably won’t glue into his tight end like he did so much last year. Green-Beckham could end up drawing double coverages simply due to his size. And then there’s Kendall Wright, who has dealt with injuries and fallen off a statistical cliff since his 1,000-yard campaign in 2013.
Matthews may be the fourth or even fifth option in the passing game, but it’s not like Mariota has an affinity to DGB or Wright. DGB got most of his playing time at the end of last season when Mariota was on the shelf.
Green-Beckham is getting most of the attention in the Titans receiving core because he’s a beast. However, his rock hands (32 receptions, 66 targets) have not been fixed yet.
Will Mariota trust a receiver like DGB who is getting double-teamed that also has trouble holding onto the ball?
Matthews is getting listed near the bottom of the FantasyPros consensus wide receiver rankings, which makes sense. But with the guys getting ranked above him, drafting/buying Matthews may make more sense.
At this point, Kendall Wright doesn’t have that much more value than Matthews. Wright is getting listed as the No 2 receiver, but as the supposed No. 1 option in last year’s offense, he only surpassed four receptions in a game once. I’m not wasting a pick a few rounds earlier on Wright, when I can get Matthews later.
The same can be said for Devin Funchess and Phillip Dorsett. Funchess is the third or fourth receiving option on a run-first team. Why is he considered a top-50 wide receiver? Dorsett has proven nothing and plays in an offense loaded with talent above him on the depth chart, yet some still like him more than Matthews.
Matthews is getting rated like he’s a bad option on one of the worst offenses in the league. The Titans are no longer one of the worst offenses in the league and while he won’t be a dominant option, Matthews could end up being a viable pick late in drafts.
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