Tennessee Titans needs: How to fill the gap at wide receiver

Free agent candidates to fill the Tennessee Titans need at wide receiver.

The Tennessee Titans have a gaping hole that needs to be filled in their depth chart at wide receiver.

Last season, Tajae Sharpe saw 35 targets come his way as the 4th wide receiver on the depth chart. Granted, Adam Humphries missed games due to an injury, but Sharpe saw plenty of playing time even before the injury. Tajae Sharpe finished the season with a 71.4% catch percentage.

That reliability is exactly what the Titans need in their replacement WR4. In free agency, players like Paul Richardson, Demaryius Thomas, and Taylor Gabriel remain. So which receivers still available are actually fits for the Titans needs? Could Dez Bryant make an NFL comeback?

The Titans seem to be set at receiver when you look at the top three on the roster. AJ Brown had one of the best rookie seasons the NFL has seen in a while from a WR. Corey Davis is considered a bust by many people, but his career has been decent at worst.

Decent isn’t justifiable for a top 5 pick but if Davis can be productive in a WR2 role then I’m here for it. Adam Humphries is Mr. Reliable, catching nearly 80% of his targets for over 10 yards per reception. There is reason for concern when you consider the normal wear and tear of an NFL season. Some of these guys are bound to get banged up, and in that case, you’ll want someone you trust lining up as the 2nd or 3rd option to catch the ball.

In the most recent episode of the No Nonsense Podcast, hosts, Luke Worsham, Will Lomas, and Matias Wodner explained that a WR4 should be able to run most if not all of the route tree effectively. Another point I gathered from the show was that 4th and 5th wideouts on the depth chart are more important than you think because ultimately they will end up playing quite a few downs through the course of the season.

I agree with this completely and while Khalif Raymond does a great job of running deep routes, I’m not sure how versatile his game is. At 5’8, Raymond is much smaller than 6’2 Tajae Sharpe who he would be replacing.

I’m a huge Khalif Raymond fan, but I believe he has a specific role that he fits best in. That role is a deep threat and while I do think he should be more prominent in the offense than last season I think the Titans need to find another player to fit in the depth chart above him. I feel great with Khalif Raymond running a deep route on a 2nd and 1 play-action play, but on 3rd and 5 with some of our targets banged up he’s not the guy I want to see running an out route.

In 2019, Raymond had an average of 18.9 yards per reception. That is exactly the way I feel he should be utilized, just hopefully a bit more next season.

Who would be a fit for this role? I would much rather add a veteran to this group of young wideouts than bring in a 2nd or third-year player. A player who has been there and done that would provide a reliable target to Ryan Tannehill and experience that could be valuable to the younger receivers.

If there were any veteran wideouts still available that could provide value and production to a team they would probably be gone this far into free agency, right? Not necessarily, here are some candidates who would immediately make the Tennessee Titans better.

Taylor Gabriel

Right off the bat I decided to go against one of the reasons I don’t like Khalif Raymond for the position, size. Taylor Gabriel is even a bit smaller than Raymond at 5’7 169 lbs. The difference that makes Gabriel a good fit for what the Titans should be looking for is that he has proven, despite his size, to be able to produce in such a role.

I don’t doubt that Khalif Raymond could become a player of this caliber, but the Titans need a player that has already proven their ability to fill this role like Taylor Gabriel.

Taylor Gabriel uses his quickness and route running to make up for his lack of size. Above you can see a perfectly executed curl route from Gabriel for about a 10 yard gain. He has 6 years in the league and during that time he has proven to be a reliable target who also has big-play potential.

This is one of the main reasons Taylor Gabriel is so high on my list of WRs for Tennessee to sign. He is capable of making the simple plays consistently, but you also must be aware of him at all times because at any moment he could change the game with one play.

Gabriel would be a perfect addition to the Titans group of wide receivers. The versatility that he would provide to the offense alone is enough to convince me that the Titans should sign him.

He would be the oldest receiver in the Titans locker room. I think a veteran receiver that has proven to be consistent in the NFL would quickly earn the respect of the rest of the receivers on the team. Not to mention, with Khalif Raymond having a similar body type, Gabriel might be able to help the young wideout evolve his game.

Demaryius Thomas

Once dominant players who have seen better days might seem like a bit of a trap for the Titans after Cam Wake’s 2019 season, but a stint in Tennessee might be just what Demaryius Thomas needs to finish his career out strong.

Thomas would bring more experience to the table than a signing like Taylor Gabriel would. With 4 Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl win, Demaryius Thomas has had a career that most players would give anything for. Thomas likely wouldn’t be able to add another Pro Bowl to his accolades if he joined the Titans, but Tennessee might just be the place to be if he is looking to add another Super Bowl.

Adding Thomas would be enticing for the Titans for the simple fact of adding a player that knows how to win a Super Bowl. He didn’t put up a big stat line, but winning a Super Bowl is a valuable experience that not a lot of players get to have.

2019 was Thomas’s worst season since he was a rookie. But even with Sam Darnold at QB, he finished with 36 catches and 433 yards on the year. This stat line, although it’s one of his worst, would be perfectly acceptable if he were to come in as the WR4 in Tennessee. Although, with Ryan Tannehill at QB rather than Darnold, if he were to sign with the Titans I would expect his numbers to spike a bit.

I am aware that Thomas doesn’t quite fit exactly what I described that the Titans need. But there aren’t many free agents available right now that could bring as much experience to the team as Demaryius Thomas. While he isn’t known for having high catch percentages I think he would bring a lot of value from a leadership aspect, as well as with his size.

Jarius Wright

Last season was not great for Jarius Wright. He caught only 28 of 58 targets and did not score a touchdown all season. I think this had more to do with the quarterback change in Carolina and not so much to do with Jarius Wright not being able to catch the ball. Wright had just come off of two seasons with over a 70% catch percentage. So, being under 50% isn’t normal for him, in fact other than in 2019 he has never even been below 60% in his career.

I think Jarius Wright has been completely undervalued going into this offseason. The Titans could potentially get him for a very cheap price later in the offseason. If that were the case he could be seen as one of the steals of the offseason in hindsight after the 2020 season.

Wright is probably the best fit for what I believe the Titans WR4 should be. He’s a player that can be relied on to move the sticks on crucial downs with good route running and sure hands.

After watching this Jarius Wright highlight reel I’m only more excited that he is available as a free agent. He would be an addition that would quietly make the Titans better because he isn’t a big name in the NFL. I think if the Tennessee Titans were to sign him he would be a player to watch because he could potentially have one the best of if not the best season of his career.

Dez Bryant

Dez Bryant recently made PFF’s list of best 101 players of the decade. Bryant was ranked 75th, which was controversial for some.

Dez Bryant hasn’t played since 2017 when he finally played a full season after being injury-ridden for two seasons (2015-2016). Bryant finished strong in 2017 with 838 and 6 touchdowns. He has been vocal in the past about wanting to return to football, but would he be the same? After sitting out for two full seasons it would be hard for Dez Bryant to return to game shape.

Dez Bryant has continued to work out, though, in hopes that someone will eventually take a chance on him.

https://twitter.com/MonarcSport/status/1257405674822283269

There is a lot of risk to signing Dez Bryant, but one for sure upside would be the nationally publicity it would bring to whatever team were to make the signing. This could be good for the Titans, who after an AFC championship appearance are finally starting to be recognized as a contender (sort of). A Dez Bryant signing would definitely bring a lot of attention to the team. With that attention would also come Bryant’s ability to make big plays and his big attitude.

A Dez Bryant NFL return isn’t too far fetched, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones still considers it.

There is no doubt that Dez Bryant was a great receiver in the NFL. In fact, I would even go as far as to say that Bryant would still be a good receiver in the league today. Would I enjoy seeing him come back to the NFL wearing two-tone blue? Most likely. Would he be my first choice when looking in free agency for a wideout? Absolutely not. It’s fun to consider, but this really gives me 2010 Randy Moss vibes.

There’s no question that something needs to be done to provide the Titans with depth at wide receiver. If no signing is made then they could be in trouble down the stretch of the season when players inevitably begin to miss games. The Tennessee Titans are pretty well rounded and have a team capable of going to the Super Bowl next season. Add a quality WR4 into the mix and I believe it improves their chances greatly.