Question marks leave Tennessee Titans offense in bottom half of NFL

ESPN ranked the offenses of all 32 NFL teams, and the Tennessee Titans showed up on the bottom half of the list.

There are some question marks on the Tennessee Titans offense as the 2019 NFL season approaches, which is why so many rankings lists have their offense in the bottom half.

Bill Barnwell of ESPN thinks the same, as he ranked the Titans’ offense as the No. 21 unit in the league for this upcoming season.

Here’s what Barnwell thinks:

"No team feels like it is in more of a holding pattern than Tennessee. Though that’s mostly about Marcus Mariota, it extends to the Titans’ weapons, too. Corey Davis improved in his first full season as a starter and showed flashes of looking like a No. 1 wideout, but the former No. 5 overall pick averaged 45 receiving yards per game over the final seven weeks of the season. Derrick Henry was out of the offense for stretches, but then racked up more rushing yards over the final four games of the year (585) than he had over the prior 12 (474). These are the two key ball carrier building blocks of the team, and it’s still too early to say what they’re going to be."

Barnwell also went on to discuss the addition of wide receiver Adam Humphries, who he sees as a positive move for the Titans because he gives quarterback Marcus Mariota a reliable and experienced target over the middle.

However, he cites a returning Delanie Walker, who is coming off a serious ankle injury and will be 35, and an inefficient Dion Lewis as two more question marks on the Titans’ offense. He also believes Tennessee will lean on fellow tight end Jonnu Smith a bit more this season.

Do Tennessee Titans really have that many question marks?

While you can clearly make the case for Marcus Mariota being a question mark thanks to his past health issues and overall disappointing play, Derrick Henry is a bit more certain than he gets credit for.

The problem with Henry’s production for much of last season was inconsistent usage. He split carries with Lewis until the Titans finally decided to give Henry the rock more in the last four games of 2018, which he turned into 585 yards and seven touchdowns.

In a contract year, we can expect Henry to get more than the lion’s share of carries because he has proved he is the better back, and the Titans have to see if he’s going to be worth another deal after 2019.

Corey Davis took a big step forward in his second season. He totaled career-highs in receiving yards (891) and touchdowns (four), but it is true he didn’t finish the season strong. Still, he can’t take all the blame for that, with Mariota not playing at 100 percent and backup Blaine Gabbert being inserted in Mariota’s place to end the season.

With a full year of Mariota healthy behind center, Davis should yet again improve on his numbers and could very well cross the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career. I think Davis’ sophomore season leaves more answers than questions.

While I have all the faith in the world in Walker, a proven veteran playmaker, clearly much of the football world doesn’t. Until I see otherwise, Walker is still on the fringe of elite tight ends in this league. His return will be huge for Mariota in his own contract year.

Where does Tennessee Titans offense stand?

The truth is, this offense is the deepest it has ever been in the Mariota era, with the addition of the aforementioned Humphries and second-round pick, A.J. Brown.

An improved offensive line should also be a major shot in the arm, especially in protecting Mariota, who was sacked 42 times last season.

Things are definitely looking up for this passing attack, and we already know the Titans’ run game will be good. Now all that’s left is for Mariota to go out there and sling it with success to prove the Titans are better than their 29th-ranked passing offense from a year ago.