Domino effect of DeAndre Hopkins signing with the Tennessee Titans

Tim Kelly, OC

One of the reasons that has been cited over and over as a driving factor in Nuk's decision to join the Tennessee Titans is his familiarity with Mike Vrabel. However, the most important connection was his connection with Tim Kelly who was his OC in 2019.

Hopkins obviously felt comfortable with where he would fit in Tim Kelly's offense this season, and his presence might fundamentally change how the Tennessee Titans play football.

While the Titans are never going to shift to a pass-first team, Tim Kelly's offense in 2019 was balanced enough that it is reasonable to think that the team could look similar to that offense this year.

In Kelly's three years as the OC in Houston, here is how often he passed the ball:

2019: 55.2%
2020: 61.3%
2021: 56.5% (Rookie QB Davis Mills)
Average passing rate: 57.7%

Compare that to two years under Todd Downing where the Tennessee Titans passed the ball 49.3% of the time in 2021 without Derrick Henry for more than half of the season, and 48.4% in 2022.

If this signing is the catalyst for the Tennessee Titans offense to move into the 21st century, that would be massive for this team.