Tennessee Titans should absolutely make this trade.
The Tennessee Titans are in a weird place right now.
Looking at the glass half full, the Titans are 3-2 and in first place in the AFC South. They have one of the best defenses in the NFL and when Mariota is allowed to move around and throw downfield the offense looks like it has potential to be at least above average.
However, in a half empty look, Tennessee lost a very winnable game against a bad team in large part because of a very bad offensive gameplan. On top of that, poor execution and a lack of killer instinct that has plagued this team for a decade or more, showed up to kick the Titans while they were down.
The blame is falling on the wide receivers this week, and to be fair their is a lot of evidence that they are hurting the team. Let me say this first though Corey Davis, Taywan Taylor and Tajae Sharpe all look very good for what they should be:
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-Corey Davis: WR1 who does everything
-Taywan Taylor: Motion man, speed receiver, YAC.
-Tajae Sharpe: Possession receiver
The problem is that right now I don’t think either Taylor or Sharpe should be considered a WR2. They are both improved from where they were in their first years, but neither one really concerns you as a defense like Rishard Matthews would have.
Again, to be fair they didn’t expect to be in these roles. When Jon Robinson was putting the 2018 Tennessee Titans together he expected to have Delanie Walker and Rishard Matthews back. Now that they are both non-factors, it turns out that maybe those young receivers aren’t ready to step up.
So what is the solution? Bill Barnwell has a really interesting idea:
Tennessee Titans trade: Tajae Sharpe and a 4th round pick
Detroit Lions trade: Golden Tate
Barnwell explains:
"“While the Lions are still giving Tate plenty of targets, the 30-year-old former Seahawks standout is in the final year of his deal and seems unlikely to return to Detroit after the breakout of Kenny Golladay. Tate is averaging 86.2 yards per game this season, so he’s still an effective weapon, but the Notre Dame product is playing less than 80 percent of the snaps on offense, leaving him well behind Marvin Jones (93.5 percent) and Golladay (89.9 percent). “"
Tate is effectively the Lions 3rd receiver and it looks like they won’t see him as a priority this offseason. Honestly, at best I think they are going to be looking at a 4th round compensatory pick in 2020.
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The Lions are in a window where they need to start making steps towards a deep playoff run. Tate is a really good player, but it looks like they are ready to go younger and cheaper. Why not give them a WR3 in Sharpe while picking up a WR2 in the process.
Tate has averaged 1025 yards and 5 TDs over the last 5 years, and even as the WR3 in Detroit he is on pace for a 1,379 and 10 TD season.
If the Titans can pull this deal off it seems incredibly cheap and I would expect Jon Robinson to try to give Tate and extension quickly since they are already really cheap at WR.
Do I think this trade makes the Titans into Super Bowl contenders? No, probably not. However, it could turn a top-15 offense into a top-10 offense and it would give Mariota a 2nd receiver to throw to for the first time in his career.
A move like this is probably the difference between a 9 win season and an 11 win season this year.