5 Tennessee Titans who could win comeback player of the year in 2019

Will Lomas

CHICAGO, IL - NOVEMBER 27: Delanie Walker

Which Tennessee Titans star will step back into the spotlight in 2019?

It is a testament to the job the Tennessee Titans GM Jon Robinson has done, that even after a 9-win season in 2018 there are still several starters on the roster that could take a big step forward.

But, here we are. I think every fan in Nissan Stadium in the final game against the Indianapolis Colts left the stadium with a huge sense of dissatisfaction.

It wasn’t one of those years where fans came in screaming “This is our year!” but after winning a playoff game in 2017 it felt like the Tennessee Titans were on the fast track to becoming a team that people respected.

Then with the playoffs on the line and their backs against the wall, the season just kinda ended. Blaine Gabbert threw a pick to kill any chance the Titans had, and when the clock hit zero fans filed out.

It wasn’t apathy or sadness, it was just this gut wrenching feeling that maybe if “player X” had played better earlier in the year, or if “player Y” was healthy or if Nick Williams didn’t drop that ball against the Buffalo Bills(!), then maybe the season would have turned out differently.

So now, with nearly a full offseason worth of reflection and a pretty good idea of where the roster is headed, which players stand out as a guy who could come back and just completely change this team?

Do we really even know what the award even means?

One of the more nebulous and intangible awards in the NFL is the “Comeback Player of the Year” award. What does it mean?

Sure, “a good player bounces back from a bad season” is the simplest answer but is that all it takes? Here is a list of the past 10 winners of AP’s CPoY award:

2009: Tom Brady (came back from ACL injury)

2010: Michael Vick (came back from…jail?)

More from Titan Sized

2011: Matthew Stafford (Pro Bowl year after two bad, injured seasons)

2012: Peyton Manning (came back from neck injury)

2013: Philip Rivers (very good season after missing the playoffs for three straight years)

2014: Rob Gronkowski (All Pro year after tearing his ACL and MCL)

2015: Eric Berry (came back a year after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and played in every game, making the All-Pro list)

2016: Jordy Nelson (came back from a torn ACL and lead the league in touchdowns)

2017: Keenan Allen (had easily the best year of his career after an ACL injury the year before)

2018: Andrew Luck (came back from shoulder injury and played well)

So, you look at that quickly and it seems like it is an award for players who have incredible seasons after a huge injury the year before, right? Well, except for Vick and Rivers who just had good seasons after people had written them off.

Also, these players really didn’t always have “comebacks” some of them just had breakout years. Stafford looked mediocre before winning the award and Keenan Allen wasn’t that great either, so having a good career before doesn’t seem like it matters.

Now that we have a rough idea of what the award stands for, who are the five Tennessee Titans players with a shot?

CBS Sports considers Tennessee Titans tight end — a sleeper.” width=”3000″ height=”2000″ />

5. Jack Conklin, Right tackle

The fact that Jack Conklin isn’t already in the Tennessee Titans long term plans shows you just how good the tackle talent has been for the franchise.

Despite his current reputation, Conklin is one of the most promising, young offensive tackles in the NFL right now. Let me prepare a blind resume for him:

-24 year old right tackle with three years of experience.

-Former All-Pro

-Only allowed 8 sacks in over 2,550 snaps.

If that guy hits the open market there is going to be a crowd ready to throw money at him. Now, some people may want to list his 2018 performance against him and talk about his one injury, but how big of a deal is that?

Nearly every player struggles the first year back after an ACL injury, so when he was hurt in the playoffs and rushed back we all knew that was going to be a questionable decision at best.

Now, with more than a full year removed from his ACL injury he should be ready to get back to his potential.

Also for the first time in his career he won’t be asked to learn a new system. That may not sound like a big deal, but in 2015 he was starting for Michigan State at left tackle, then in 2016 he started for the Tennessee Titans at right tackle in a power-scheme, then in 2017 he started in the same system and was hurt, before finally being rushed back and taught a new zone blocking system as quickly as he could without any practice reps in the preseason or in camp.

That is a roller coaster, but if he can get back to where he was in 2016 or 2017 then a Pro Bowl/All-Pro trip could be in his future. The only question would be, can an offensive lineman win CPoY?

4. Dion Lewis, Running back

This is a strange one, but hear me out. What do Tennessee Titans fans expect from Dion Lewis in 2019? Nothing.

In fact, if it were up to most fans Dion Lewis would never see the field on 1st or 2nd down and only sometimes on 3rd down. This is such a far cry from where the majority of fans and media personalities were in 2018.

Before the Tennessee Titans season it looked like they had found their Darren Sproles or Brian Westbrook. Someone who could be the change of pace back that everyone feared because of all the unique ways you could use him.

Instead, he had a dud of a season and showed why you really shouldn’t fall in love with New England Patriots players in free agency (except you Logan Ryan). But, is that really the end of his story?

More from Titans News

If he came back and somehow was that guy for the Titans this year it would be huge for his legacy and for the Tennessee offense.

Honestly, I think the idea of Lewis having a big season is being slept on, especially when you look at my article earlier on the changes that Arthur Smith will make on offense.

If the Titans get more creative and use Lewis as a hybrid WR/RB that gets used on jet sweeps, screens, reverses, and other gadget plays as well as being lined up occasionally at fullback for some strange looks, he would suddenly be back to his exciting New England self.

Is there a scenario where Derrick Henry rushes for 1,300 yards and Dion Lewis combines for 1,500 yards in yards from scrimmage? Last year he had more than half that despite being incredible inefficient with questionable play calling and some issues on the offensive line.

With those things hopefully settled, is there a path for Lewis to become the poor-man’s Alvin Kamara of the Tennessee Titans offense?

3. Marcus Mariota, Quarterback

Marcus Mariota has faults, but when you look at Matthew Stafford on the list of CPoY award winners your first thought should be about how much better Mariota is than Stafford at that point.

I truly believe that if Mariota played a healthy season, people would be in awe of what he did on the field. As far as being clutch goes, no one in the league right now is close to him.

Sure, guys like Patrick Mahomes who are dominant all game long and are surrounded by top-end skill position players should be way ahead of Mariota in conversation for any comprehensive QB awards. However, in terms of the ability to claw back from a bad performance by players around him or to overcome defensive struggles, no one has done it more often than #8.

You can see Mariota get so much better and confident when he goes a few games without an injury. It takes some time for him to get his confidence back, but when he does he ends up with some eye popping wins like his win against Tom Brady and the Patriots this year.

I don’t know that he would ever put up a 4,500 yard season or anything like that, but if he stayed healthy for a full year and took the Titans to a 11-5 record or better then he would immediately move up to near the top of those rankings.

The question for Mariota is the same question that a lot of these other CPoY winners had: health. If he can make it through 16 games, he will be one of the front runners but that is a huge ‘if”.

2. Malcolm Butler, Cornerback

It is easy to forget how well respected Malcolm Butler was just a few years ago. A two-time Super Bowl Champion with a Pro Bowl and an All-Pro honor already on his resume, Butler was the next great cornerbacks in the NFL.

However, some mysterious off the field issues and a lack of consistently ultimately led the Patriots to consider trading him for first round draft pick or trading him outright to the New Orleans Saints for Malcolm Butler.

The crazy thing was, people thought that the Saints were making out like bandits in that scenario. To take a quote from Arrow Head Addict:

"Butler would give the Saints a shutdown cornerback who is still very young. The Pats slapped him with a first-round tender, so now the Saints will be able to match whatever offer Butler receives on the open market… …If this trade happens, the Patriots would be dealing from a position of strength after signing cornerback Stephon Gilmore away from the Buffalo Bills for a reported $14 million per season. This gives them a lockdown cornerback of their own even as they deal away Butler."

The thing is, people weren’t wrong but somewhere along the way Butler hit a rough patch that he never really got out of. Well, until the second half of last season, when he was quietly one of the better cornerbacks in the NFL.

The Titans didn’t get worse anywhere on defense this offseason and in fact they bolstered the pass rush which should make life even easier for Butler. If he is finally the confident cornerback that he was in his prime with the Patriots, suddenly things get really interesting in Tennessee.

Now, Mike Vrabel and staff know exactly how to use Butler and can figure out how to put him in position to win on a weekly basis. With talent all over the field, the Titans most opportunistic cornerback could make a splash and remind people why he was so respected in the first place.

1. Delanie Walker, Tight end

Is Delanie Walker the most consistent and dominant skill position player that the Tennessee Titans have head over a six-year stretch in franchise history?

Since joining the Tennessee Titans in 2013 look at where he stacks up among active tight ends in the NFL:

-4th in yards per game with 54.6

-6th in TDs

-5th in yards

-4th in receptions

He did all that and all those numbers don’t adjust for him missing the 2018 season!

Walker is basically a guaranteed 60+ receptions, 800+ yards, 4+ touchdowns every year, but with a year to truly get healthy after all of that dirty work in the trenches, on special teams and in the backfield for the bulk of his career he could be even more dangerous.

What if we see the 2015 version of Delanie where he puts up around 100 receptions for 1,100 yards and 6 TDs? All it would take is for George Kittle and Travis Kelce to regress a little bit for Walker to lead the NFL in receptions and yards by a tight end.

It would be huge for a 35 year old tight end to come back from a major injury and lead the NFL in those categories.

In a world where the Titans win double digit games and make the playoffs, how can one of the clear offensive leaders get ignored when they overcome all of those obstacles? I don’t think that can and he has the clout from around the league to back up his national push for that award if he wanted it.

Will Lomas