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Tennessee Titans second year sleeper Jonnu Smith

By Will Lomas

JACKSONVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 17: Jonnu Smith #81 of the Tennessee Titans scores a 32-yard touchdown the second half in front of Paul Posluszny #51 of the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Field on September 17, 2017 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 17: Jonnu Smith #81 of the Tennessee Titans scores a 32-yard touchdown the second half in front of Paul Posluszny #51 of the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Field on September 17, 2017 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /
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The Tennessee Titans player most of you forgot about.

For Tennessee Titans tight end Jonnu Smith, his rookie year had some ups and downs.

After scoring touchdowns in back to back games vs Jacksonville and Seattle in weeks 2 and 3 of the NFL season, the Titans rookie didn’t score another time all year.

Whether that was a combination of the offensive coaching collapsing, or if it was some sort of rookie issue we don’t know.

However, what we do know is that Titans fans should expect more from Jonnu Smith this year, if Matt LaFleur’s past is any example.

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John Glennon had a great article on the impact that the new Los Angeles Rams offensive coaching staff had on that team last year, including a note on then 2nd year tight end Tyler Higbee:

“At tight end, LaFleur’s Rams produced some significant increases in the stats of Western Kentucky’s Tyler Higbee, who was in his second season in the league. He more than doubled the catch total of his rookie season (from 11 to 25), more than tripled his receiving yardage and improved his average reception from 5.3 yards as a rookie to a whopping 18.4 yards last year.”

While a lot of people are worried a lot about what will happen with Taywan Taylor and Corey Davis at wide receiver, people forget that in an offense that has a lot of the play solved presnap, Smith could have a big impact on this team.

If Corey Davis and Taywan Taylor turn out to be capable WRs, this team could have 8 playmakers or mismatches from the get go:

-Corey Davis

-Taywan Taylor

-Rishard Matthews

-Derrick Henry

-Dion Lewis

-Delanie Walker

-Jonnu Smith

-Marcus Mariota

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I am not saying that this team couldn’t use some an A1, Odell Beckham type WR but plenty of teams are successful without having a top-5 WR.

If you can be efficient and limit your mistakes, without getting too tight and predictable then you can score a lot of points in this league. That is what the Rams did last year with less talent than the Titans have this year.

Can LaFleur make the Titans the #1 offense in the NFL, probably not. However, he could make them a top 10 unit if he can find ways to make guys like Smith productive in their roles.

I think Smith is ready for a good year as he prepares to take over for Delanie Walker someday. In the meantime, a 500 yard and 4 TD year could be a really positive development for the Titans.

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