Titans could still sign a receiver.
I have been pretty down on the depth the Tennessee Titans currently have at wide receiver, and that seems to be an opinion shared by a lot of fans.
In yesterday’s mailbag, Jim Wyatt was asked if he could see the Titans signing another wide receiver before the season started, and his response was:
"I do think adding another receiver is a possibility, but the GM and the coaches want to see the guys they have in camp first."
That isn’t giving anyone too much of a look behind the screen, but it does tell us that any signing would likely come after the Titans got to evaluate the talent they currently have.
Right now the list of receivers on the roster starts out strong, but after the top three, there are some questions.
If you asked me today to rank the Titans WRs by the number of snaps they would all play if they made the roster, I think this is the list:
1. A.J. Brown
2. Corey Davis
6. Cam Batson
Unknown/UDFAs: Kyle Williams, Nick Westbrook, Kristian Wilkerson, Mason Kinsey
As I said, that list is top-heavy and when you think about it you really don’t need to have four stars at wide receiver to be successful. However, you do want to be as good as possible at the position and it isn’t asking too much to think they could upgrade that WR5 spot by either sliding someone ahead or behind Kalif Raymond.
I went through the free agent WRs still left on the market and found the top-5 in terms of playtime for their team’s last season. These are the best options left if you want a Tajae Sharpe-like role player to come in and get the job done.
5. Josh Gordon*
The Tennessee Titans would be lucky to get Josh Gordon, who I have talked about several times as one of the few potential superstars left on the market.
Now, you may notice that big asterisk next to Gordon’s name. Well, that is because he is technically not reinstated by the NFL yet, and it has been reported that the Seattle Seahawks would be interested in getting him back if they could.
Still, as far as I can tell, Gordon will be a free agent if he is reinstated and there are few teams that have a true WR1 and a slot receiver locked up for the future like the Titans do.
If the Titans wanted to let Corey Davis go, they could sign Josh Gordon to a two-year deal this offseason with big, non-guaranteed money in 2021 and then make a decision after the season is over without risking losing a compensatory pick.
Gabriel is another WR most Titans fans have talked about thanks in large part to his impressive speed and unique skill set.
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Basically, if you like Kalif Raymond a lot, why not go out and get a player who is probably going to give you something very similar. Now granted, there is probably less long term upside in Gabriel, but there is also less risk.
Don’t forget that we have really only seen Kalif Raymond for one season and as fun as he has been, there is no guarantee that he wasn’t a flash in the pan. I’m not saying that to throw shade at Raymond or to say that you shouldn’t be excited about him, but I am saying if you like that element of the Titans game, why not double down.
He is a really fun player to watch when he is on, and he is perfect for the limited role that the Titans need in my opinion.
Richardson looked like an ascending talent with the Seattle Seahawks and when Washington signed him in free agency, but most people agreed that buying him high after his one season with more than 300 yards was a high-risk move.
He actually looked poised to be one of the more efficient WRs on the roster before a shoulder injury in his first season sent him to I.R. It didn’t help that once he came back in 2019, he wasn’t playing with Alex Smith anymore, instead it was the three-headed monster of Colt McCoy, Case Keenum and Dwayne Haskins
Richardson is an ideal WR 4/5 who is someone who has moderate size and speed, and someone who is skilled enough to be a solid backup if you need to plug someone in.
The first two players have a lot more name value, but don’t overlook Richardson as a fit because he has played in a lot of schemes that revolve heavily around the run game and play action and Tennessee would be right up his alley.
I think Thomas is the free agent wide receiver that no one is paying attention to right now, but who could make a real impact for a team during the 2020 NFL season.
If Thomas still wants to play in the NFL after starting the last four seasons with whatever QB the Denver Broncos were trying to pass off as acceptable, and Sam Darnold, then more power to him. That tells me that he truly loves football because those are some terrible options.
Excluding his rookie season, Thomas has been an above-average receiver at his lowest, averaging at least 12 yards per catch in 7 of 9 seasons, including last year. Even though he has an issue with drops, he generally is more good than bad and if you want a receiver that has the size and the athleticism to threaten defenses in different ways, then Thomas is a good option.
The Titans could use another receiver who can scare defenses on screens, and he is one of the few “big” receivers left on the market and if the Titans want to replace Tajae Sharpe’s usage in the redzone and as a 3rd down target, then that is a good thing to have.
I’m going to assume that most people did not expect to see Wright’s name on this list, but he has been pretty consistent throughout his career as a backup, spot starter.
After looking into this for a while, you can find clips of Wright mic’d up on the sideline talking to teammates, encouraging, discussing things with the receivers/quarterbacks, and generally doing all the things that you want a “glue guy” to do.
Remember this isn’t my ranking of players that I think the Titans should sign, it is just a list of which players played the highest percentage of snaps for their teams in 2019. Teams trusted these players enough to step in or start for them for long periods of time, and that trust is what you look for before the season starts.
Having said that, I think that Wright is probably the player here with the least pure upside, but you have to remember what you are comparing this with. If the Titans were interested in Wright or Richardson, it would most likely be to push against a less experienced player like Rashard Davis instead of the top-4 guys.
Thomas, Gabriel and Gordon are all players that I could definitely see as high upside signings that are worth stashing behind Raymond, but who could also challenge for that WR4 spot too depending on what the situation called for.
Regardless, depth needs to be addressed and the Titans should bring in players to at least force a competition for that spot instead of just deferring to the “least bad” option. All five of these players would give them that chance.