Film Friday: The Rookie Receiver Logjam
Can any of these rookie wide receivers answer the bell and claim a roster spot?
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Forgive me if I’ve already talked about this here on Stacking The Inbox, but my brain is a never-ending stream of ideas that I simply cannot contain. So, I can’t remember if, when, or where I’ve said just about anything I say at any given moment. It’s like my brain listened to Michael Scott when he said “don't ever, for any reason, do anything to anyone for any reason ever…”
Anyway, let it be known as we sit here just a couple of days before free agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins visits with the Tennessee Titans that I, Stoney Keeley, am actually okay with what the Titans have in terms of pass catchers right now, with or without Hopkins. I know it sounds crazy, and while I was sitting on a live stream hoping for the Titans to draft a wide receiver early on Day 3, I’ve avoided nestling up with the camp of Titans fans who are calling this group an outright disaster. Why? A couple of reasons…
First, I just don’t think this offense, as re-tooled and streamlined as it may be, is going to suddenly turn to a pass-happy 10,000-pass-attempt offense. I think they’ll do more to spread the ball around, but the heart of this unit is still going to be Derrick Henry (and Tyjae Spears *eyeball emoji*). A standout WR2…your 2020 Corey Davis, if you will…feels like more of a luxury in what I expect this offense to be than a necessity to me. That’s why I haven’t felt the panic some of y’all have felt.
Not to mention, you have to look at the overhaul of the passing game beyond just the wide receiver position - they added pass-blocking specialists along the offensive line. I believe it’ll be a better group than we saw in 2022. They invested draft capital in a jack-of-all-trades tight end and a running back who offers explosive potential as a receiving threat. Spears will get targets. Josh Whyle will get targets. Hell, if it’s anything like last year, Henry’s going to get his targets too. I haven’t even brought up Chig Okonkwo yet! It’s possible that as it stands now, Kyle Philips is your WR2, and he may be the third or fourth overall receiving option! My point is that there will be options for Ryan Tannehill. I don’t believe the Titans need a white knight to rescue the offense.
Second, there is reason for optimism with this group as it is. Treylon Burks has the talent to blossom into a hearty WR1. Mike Vrabel spoke volumes about the trust they have in Philips with all the targets he got in the Giants game last season (I’m going to break that down next week here on Film Friday). I’m ready for the Chig breakout. I’d put Chris Moore as option #4, and feel good about that as he’s coming off a pretty hot stretch down the season. I understand that I’m being about as ‘glass half full’ as it gets, but there’s a lot of pure untapped talent in this group that is being underrated. Whether or not they can all jell and the passing offense clicks the way it did in 2020 is an entirely different discussion. And, there’s no judging here, by the way - I realize this level of optimism may put me on an island, and completely understand if you don’t want to visit me there. It’s part faith in the potential, and part gut feeling that it just simply can’t be worse than it was in 2022.
Whether or not the Titans land Hopkins, they’ve got an intriguing group of young bucks on the roster, and they’re afforded the luxury of letting it play out to see who claims a spot. Now, I’ll say that I do think the four guys not named Colton Dowell on this list are probably competing more so for return duties. But, you never know! In a group that feels wide open beyond Burks, who knows what can happen? This week is more short and sweet than recent Film Fridays. Instead of writing a column for each guy, I’ve lumped them together, watching 1-2 games of each receiver to get some general impressions and passing along my thoughts. Let’s dig in.