Tennessee Titans success will depend on development, not additions

With the Tennessee Titans rookie class coming into town soon, Wednesday was a day for the veterans to speak to the media. The veterans chosen to speak were interesting and there was one big takeaway that I had from listening to the three offensive players.

Ryan Tannehill, Aaron Brewer, Chig Okonkwo, and Rodger McCreary were the veterans selected to speak. While they all had some interesting quotes about what the new offense might feature and a position-less group of defensive backs, those weren't the most telling things.

When the team's starting quarterback was asked about the wide receivers on the roster, Tannehill said this, "Obviously I knew it was an area that could be addressed...but they did it just a little bit later than I thought they were going to, but we added some other key positions, some talent that will help us across the board."

This was after he had praised Treylon Burks, Kyle Philips, and Racey McMath three of the four top receivers on the roster right now.

In the post-draft press conference from the team, fans were almost promised that the Tennessee Titans would be doing something after the draft to help the receiver position. While everyone waits on that to happen, it is fair to say that the team did the worst job they could bring in more talent at wide receiver.

Through this point in the offseason, the Tennessee Titans have been much more committed to adding backup linebackers than starting wide receivers, which paints a pretty good picture of the Mike Vrabel team-building strategy so far.

Assuming that they don't have a DeAndre Hopkins-level surprise hidden up their sleeve, Tennessee Titans fans might need to get behind the idea of development over additions.

This will almost certainly be a run, run, pass style of offense this year when you look at the commitment to adding offensive linemen and using a premium draft pick on Tyjae Spears to be a backup running back. Any progress in the passing game is going to have to come from young guys like Burks, Philips, and McMath taking a step forward and making the most of their limited opportunities

I absolutely believe that Treylon Burks will be a very good receiver as long as the Tennessee Titans can avoid extending their streak of being the most injured team in the NFL. Same thing for Philips who showed a ton of promise as a slot receiver throughout training camp and in the preseason.

Racey McMath has always been a fun guy to imagine as a vertical threat, but just when it looked like he might be ready to make a move from special teams player to role player, he hurt his hip and missed nearly the entire season.

Whether it is a good idea or not, those are the guys the Tennessee Titans have. It would be a nice change of pace to see this coaching staff develop a player with tools like McMath, but I wouldn't hope for him to be anything other than an exciting deep threat that sees 8-12 snaps per game on offense.

That means that on 3rd and 9, the development of that second-year trio will have a lot to do with whether the Tennessee Titans get a first down or whether it is time for the Ryan Stonehouse showcase.