The Voice of the Tennessee Titans adds fuel to the free agent fire
By Will Lomas
Tennessee Titans GM Jon Robinson has never been one to leave holes in a good roster.
More often than not he has a few moves up his sleeves even after the draft and that means that we still don’t know exactly what this team will look like heading into training camp.
Think about all of the late additions that have come in and turned into significant role players or starters for the Titans. Andre Johnson, Marc Mariani, Josh Kline, Dennis Kelly, Darius Jennings, Eric Decker, and Erik Walden all were added after May and those were just transactions in the first two years under Robinson.
Just speculating, I wrote an article last week on the three most intriguing free agents on the market right now and they all happen to be wide receivers.
I don’t think it is fair to say that the Titans have a hole at receiver right now because by the end of the first month you have to believe that they will have Robert Woods and Treylon Burks on the field along for nearly every rep.
If they want to use three receivers Kyle Philips looks like a plug-and-play starter in the slot and the coaching staff is in love with Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and he is probably going to be the first receiver off the bench for them.
They aren’t limited to those four options though thanks to the addition of Austin Hooper who has been to the Pro Bowl twice because of his skills as a receiver. Chig Okonkwo also deserves a shoutout here because he was the fastest tight end at the NFL Combine and he looks like a perfect upgrade to the 2020 version of Anthony Firkser (that’s high praise).
So, was I overexaggerating the appeal of free-agent wide receivers for an offense that is deeper than it has been in years?
The Voice of the Tennessee Titans speaks
It turns out, that the VOTT Mike Keith thinks that adding a receiver is a very real possibility. In a segment on 104.5 The Zone in Nashville, he said that he wouldn’t be surprised to see the Titans go after a receiver in free agency. Here is the exact quote from the J-Mart and Ramon show:
"“There are still some veterans floating around and don’t be shocked if the Titans nab a veteran in the next few weeks who is out there…now the Titans once again have flexibility to be able to bounce around and potentially do some things.”"
I speculated on the three names I would target in the article I referenced earlier, but the list of potential additions is long. Guys I didn’t mention in that article like Emmanuel Sanders and T.Y. Hilton also make sense.
Maybe the Titans aren’t looking for another push to push for starter snaps and they just want a veteran in there with a denied skill set. Even then there are guys like Kenny Stills, Marquise Goodwin, and Danny Amendola who would all add interesting depth.
Right now I would say that the Tennessee Titans’ offense is better than it was last year even that three-day stretch when everyone was healthy. While the offense lacks a proven star receiver, Robert Woods has been great in his own right over the last three seasons and from WR1 to WR4 this team is better.
That isn’t even mentioning a healthy Derrick Henry, a drastically improved TE group, and a healthier, deeper offensive line.
Still, signing one of these veteran receivers would add even more talent to an offense that should take a big leap forward this season.