One area is a potential underrated weakness for Tennessee Titans in 2024

Can the Tennessee Titans overcome this potential deficiency in 2024?
DeAndre Hopkins #10 Tennessee Titans
DeAndre Hopkins #10 Tennessee Titans / Wesley Hitt/GettyImages
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Let's get one thing straight, the Tennessee Titans have made tremendous improvements at the wide receiver position this offseason. The only guy they had last year who was a playmaker in any sense was DeAndre Hopkins. Things were so dire that at this point in 2023 that Treylon Burks was the team's top wideout.

It is a night and day difference for the Titans this season. Improvements arrived at the very beginning of free agency when they signed Calvin Ridley on March 13. They also added Tyler Boyd right after the draft, so this time around, they have concluded OTA's with three starting caliber receivers on the roster instead of waiting until mid-July to have even one of them.

A trio of Hopkins, Ridley, and Boyd has potential to be dangerous, so much so that even Tyreek Hill could not help but give props to the Titans. But anyone who says that nothing could hold them back is lying to themselves, as there is one thing that sticks out, and it has nothing to do with Will Levis being an inexperienced and unproven quarterback.

Average age of Tennessee Titans wide receivers is mildly concerning

When you look at the ages of the receivers in the Titans starting trio, Hopkins is 32, while both Ridley and Boyd are 29 and will turn 30 during the season. This aspect is also magnified when you consider that the future of Burks, one of the young receivers on the team, is less than certain, to say the least.

There is no evidence out there that age will be a real issue for these guys, but you have to account for it, especially in the case of Hopkins. He has aged very well and shown in the past two years that he still has it, but players can fall off at any time, and with how much tread he has on his tires at age 32, who knows how soon father time hits him.

Boyd is still on the right side of 30 for now, but he has played for awhile and is coming off one of his least productive seasons as a pro. As is the case with Hopkins, you cannot rule out the possibility of him declining due to age and mileage.

Now in fairness, Ridley is a slight exception to the rule since he missed almost two full years of football, meaning he does not have the same wear and tear as many other guys his age. Still though, we would feel much better about his chances of thriving if he were five years younger, as he claims he feels to be.

While we would prefer for the age of the Titans receiving room to be more balanced, there is a definite advantage to having primarly veterans. Levis is young and learning, and playing with guys who are more experienced and knowledgeable will help him catch on faster, whereas relying on mostly young guys would be risky since they are learning too.

And let's not sit here and act like this is an issue that will bog down the Titans for years to come. We know how important the wide receiver position is to Brian Callahan, and many expected the team to draft a receiver in the first round over a tackle.

There is no doubt that this new regime will inject youth into the position before too long, and it is hard to hold it against them since the Titans clearly would not fill every need this offseason. But it is fair to say that not ending up with a younger starting receiver this offseason was a slight miss.

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