Best Laid Plans: Titans Wide Receivers
“Best-laid plan” refers to something that has gone awry or something that has not turned out well as one had hoped. It perfectly describes the Tennessee Titans WR situation.
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If you asked any angry, drunk, and lethargic Titans fan what they thought was the team’s biggest need ahead of the NFL Draft, with no hesitation whatsoever, they’d scream wide receiver or “somebody to catch the damn bawl!!”. And you know what, they’d be correct, as the Titans’ receiving core remained absolutely barren and devoid of talent from top to bottom like a dried up water well.
Treylon Burks has talent, but he struggled with injuries in year one, and his ceiling doesn’t exactly scream WR1. The current WR2 is….Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, and we all know how we feel about Westbrook-Ikhine playing a significant amount of snaps.
(Spoiler, we don’t feel good about it at all, and quite frankly no one should feel comfortable with that!!!)
Following NWI, there’s free agent signee Chris Moore. Nothing more than a depth receiver, a role he should secure with the Titans this upcoming season. Next is Kyle Phillips, a second year receiver that turned heads during week one of last season, but he too struggled with injuries and failed to stay on the field in a consistent manner.
Then there’s Racey McMath, someone who has the physical tools but simply isn’t good enough to even warrant a major amount of snaps because he can’t seem to combine his physical attributes and the nuances of playing receiver at the professional level.
To round this group out, there’s Reggie Roberson — end of the depth chart receiver that provides some speed — and Mason Kinsey — the same situation as Roberson, but doesn’t provide nearly the same speed.
So if you wanted to chart this group together, it’d look a little like this:
Treylon Burks
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine
Chris Moore
Kyle Phillips
Racey McMath
Mason Kinsey/Reggie Roberson
Now if you said this group looks worse than a pool of smelly vomit hurled by a drunken man at a bar, I wouldn’t really disagree. There’s no eye popping talent here instead of Burks and maybe Phillips, and there’s a lot of guys that either would be an end of the depth chart bodies on contending rosters, or wouldn’t even be on a title contending active roster at all.
With all that being said, let’s go back to what the Titans’ biggest need felt like during the 2023 NFL Draft. Yes, offensive line was a big time need too, but everyone and their mother would tell you wide receiver felt like the biggest need for the Titans right now.
Which means the Titans recognized the need, adequately addressed it in the draft, and sent everyone home happy with bright smiles on their faces right?
WRONG!
The Titans only drafted one single receiver during last weekend’s draft. One, uno, just one single wide pass catcher. Receiver was the biggest need right? Well, the Titans apparently didn’t think so.
That’s a little harsh to say, but the proof is in the pudding.
The only receiver the Titans drafted was Colton Dowell, an interesting 7th round selection that could fight for a roster spot throughout training camp and the preseason. But will he really bring a good amount of juice to a passing attack that barely has enough in the first place?
No, not at all.
Which begs the question. What really is the Titans’ plan in terms of rebuilding this receiving core and giving it the talent it needs to make this offense halfway decent? We know the plan didn’t include any notable receivers in the draft this year — which makes sense considering how poor the class was overall — as well as any notable free agent pass catchers from the brunt of the 2023 free agent receiver class (which again, was poor in quality).
With the majority of any possible, significant 2023 moves off the table, the Titans can only hope for a trade or cut candidate to appear soon, or look ahead to next off-season, when a nice amount of options are scheduled to hit the free agent market and/or draft.
And if I’m a betting man, I think the Titans are looking ahead to the next off-season as well.
Let’s look over this a little more, so I can fully explain what I believe.
2024 Free Agent Class
Currently, a few notable names are scheduled to hit the open market in 2024.
If you took a little trip to Spotrac.com, you’d see the most notable name is Mike Evans, whose contract expires after this upcoming season.
Tampa Bay will do almost everything to retain him, since his pairing with Chris Godwin gives the Buccaneers a stable and dominant receiving duo that can be put up against the best of them.
But if he does find a way to wander onto the open market, Evans could attract the Titans given his experience, production, and his stature that fits the mold of the receivers the Titans have been primarily interested in throughout the past.
Although we don’t know the exact receiver preferences new GM Ran Carthon has, so maybe past data isn’t the best to use for this specific problem.
Tee Higgins is scheduled to be a free agent as well, but at this point it’d be a stunner if he isn’t a Bengal in 2024 and beyond, given that he’s developed into a bonafide WR1 alongside Ja’Marr Chase.
Other options include Tyler Boyd, a tough slot receiver that has combined with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, to create the three headed receiving monster in Cincinnati with the Bengals.
Odell Beckham Jr. is a popular name that should hit the market next off-season, but he’s coming off a second ACL tear, and we won’t know if he’ll even be a viable option given that he hasn’t played since the second ACL tear.
He’ll be in Baltimore this season, so we should see plenty of him barring any further injury. So for now, we can say he could be an “option”, but we don’t know nearly enough about him on the field to draw a good conclusion.
Some more names that could fit the mold include Van Jefferson and D.J. Chark, but we don’t know what the Rams will do with Jefferson’s expiring contract, so he’s a bit of a question mark at this point.
If your cup of tea isn’t on the free agent market though, the next draft should be for you, as next year’s class should inspire a lot of confidence for every fan of a team that’s starving for decent receiver play.
2024 Draft Class
To put it lightly, the 2024 draft class should have a lot more top end depth than the 2023 class.
It’ll be headlined by Marvin Harrison Jr., the monster Ohio State product that has captured attention from almost every draft junkie since he arrived onto the scene in 2021. He’s a very good route runner with strong hands, excellent body control, and while he doesn’t possess blazing speed, he has a very good amount to the point you have to respect it.
He’s probably the most hyped receiver prospect since Calvin Johnson Jr., who went 2nd overall to the Detroit Lions in 2007, which says a lot about his potential and how confident scouts are that his game will translate to the next level.
Will he be in range for the Titans to select him? Eh, it remains to be seen, since the Titans will likely need to have a top 4 pick or have a pick near/inside the top 5 to even think about trading up for him.
While it seems unlikely that the Titans will stink enough to somehow draft him, it’s still a dream worth dreaming.
Another prospect that should be a first round prospect in 2024, is Xavier Worthy of Texas. Worthy stole hearts by contributing heavily as a freshman, but took a step back statistically in 2022.
That can be credited to Texas’ shaky situation all around last season, as starting quarterback Quinn Ewers was in and out of the lineup due to injuries. But his speed and his ability to take the top off the defense will surely have NFL teams scrambling to draft him.
Emeka Egbuka is another Ohio State product that should be a premium draft selection as well, which shouldn’t surprise you considering just how polished Ohio State receivers are when they exit the college ranks.
Adonai Mitchell of Texas — formerly of Georgia — has size, speed, and has experience in the SEC, but this upcoming year at Texas will be interesting in terms of how high he may be picked. This might be a good reminder for you to watch a lot of Texas football in 2023.
The list doesn’t even end with these 4 guys either. You still have guys like Beaux Collins, Ja’Corey Brooks (Zach can talk about him), Troy Franklin, I mean this draft class will have depth and talent for days.
So you can understand why the Titans would be willing to bet on getting a game changing receiver next season, preferably in the draft.
Bottom Line
I take it that you can see why the Titans would be willing to wait until 2024 to find their next big time receiver?
There’s so much talent that’s set to be let loose, that the Titans could twiddle their thumbs with excitement and a big smile on their face if they wanted to.
Plus, with all the spending money expected to be available, I bet you fans can’t wait until next off-season as well.
The point is this, it’s okay that the Titans didn’t exactly address the receiver position this off-season, since they’re bound to have an almost unlimited selection of talent ready to be plucked next off-season.
Sure, the receiver experience might be painful this year, but wait it out and expect some changes in 2024.
Because that’s where the pot of gold should be sitting.
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