3. Corey Davis
I may catch some flack for this one, not sure, but a lot of what I’m about to say makes sense—to me. If the following logic is accurate, and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is fit to be a coach in the NFL, we should see some significant changes on Sunday. Bear with me, here we go.
WR Corey Davis was the fifth overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft. The Titans (specifically GM Jon Robinson) valued having a prototypical WR1, or X receiver on the roster. You don’t pull the trigger on someone that high if you don’t intend to weaponize them.
Here it is, the most inane logic of all, Davis has been targeted 12 times in three games. That’s a 13.6 percent target share, down from 26.3 percent in 2018.
So I think the Tennessee Titans will force feed him the ball. We need to see him win contested catches, and if he can’t, at least we’ll find out.
.@gregcosell on @Midday180: You don't know the quality of NFL wideouts unless the ball is delivered. Open is a relative term. We still don't really know about @TheCDavis84. #Titans
— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) September 25, 2019
For this game, the Titans need to move Davis around and hopefully match him up in the slot opposite Falcons’ slot CB Demontae Kazee. Art Smith should take a few shots early on; the Titans need to stretch the field a little bit.
If Davis can get behind Falcons safety Ricardo Allen, and if Mariota has the time to deliver the ball, CD84 could grab a couple of big chunk plays.
In turn, he could influence the momentum of this game substantially. After all, Allen has a 158.3 passer rating when targeted this year, and Falcons S Keanu Neal is out after tearing his Achilles in Week 3, effectively ending his season.