The Tennessee Titans looked stagnant overall as an offense in the early part of the 2019 season, never really finding a sense of rhythm until they handed over the starting quarterback job to Ryan Tannehill in Week 7.
The team never looked back, turning a 2-4 start into an AFC Championship Game run that nobody saw coming, falling just one game short of a Super Bowl LIV appearance.
But the success was far from all on Tannehill, who had quickly rising targets like A.J. Brown to pass the ball off too.
Former Titans wide receiver Harry Douglas recently joined us to weigh in on Tennessee’s receiving corps and what the outlook for the team looks like this year.
Douglas had a lot of praise for Brown.
“I love both of them,” he said. “When you look at A.J., he’s a guy that’s six-feet, but he’s a big-bodied receiver, over 225 pounds. You love that in a receiver. You can just throw the ball up and he’s gonna go get it.”
Brown may have been snubbed for the NFL’s Rookie of the Year Award, but is still among the league’s best targets on offense to watch in the upcoming season.
“I think he’s top 20,” Douglas said. “When you look at what he did last year, for a rookie to come in and have the impact that he had, it’s just not that heard of. He really stepped up big-time. You want to see guys, when they start at the beginning of the season, moving on to the middle of the season, the end of the season to playoff football, you want to see how they’re progressing, and I thought A.J. did more than progress.”
Douglas has high expectations for the type of numbers Brown will put up in 2020.
“I thought he performed greater than most people expected him to, and when you see him down the stretch, you see they leaned on him a lot. He got over a thousand yards as a rookie, and this year, I think he has a chance to put up over a thousand yards again.”
In addition to the natural talent and raw physical ability Brown brings to the table, at 6-foot and 226 pounds, his size alone makes him difficult for opposing defensive backs to go up against.
“He’s a matchup nightmare,” Douglas said. “When you have little guys on him, it’s just going to be difficult for the quarterback to make the completion.”
While Brown has surged ahead and quickly cemented the No. 1 spot for himself, Corey Davis isn’t one to pass over.
“You have Corey, who can get the jump balls, but he has a little bit more finesse to him,” Douglas said.
But there’s still a lot of questions as to whether or not Davis will hit his ceiling with the Titans, or if he’ll do better with a change of scenery in the future.
“I think Corey’s going to have a better year than he’s had in previous years with the Titans,” Douglas said. “They didn’t pick up his fifth-year option, so it’s a contract year for him. So, it’s a year for him to go out there and just focus 100 percent on the game, on being better and producing for his team. If they re-sign Corey after this year, there’s an even greater chance that he could hit his ceiling there.”
Regardless of whether or not Davis remains in Nashville for years to come, Douglas sees a bright future for him.
“I think Corey has a lot left in the tank,” he said. “I think his ceiling is high. He has a lot of football to play, and I think he’s going to be great.”
The two had a solid personal relationship, and Douglas has witnessed first hand the type of player Davis is both on and off the field.
“I was there with him when he got drafted, and our lockers were right beside each other,” he said. “He works hard, he doesn’t complain and I think he’s a baller. When he came out in the draft, I thought he was the best receiver in that draft class, and I still feel the same way.”
The receiving corps isn’t just about Brown and Davis, even though they may be the two who get the most attention.
“I wouldn’t leave out Adam Humphries,” Douglas said. “I watched Adam a lot while he was in Tampa… I watched Humph a lot. He’s sure-handed, he’s big on third-down, he’s gonna come down with it. You’ve seen it in a couple games when he’s come up big on third and fourth-down, making big plays for the Titans last year. But the thing about Humph is that he has to stay healthy. When (the Titans) are healthy, they have a nice receiving corps.”
Douglas noted the Titans lost Tajae Sharpe in free agency, and is curious to see what the team does at that spot on the depth chart moving forward.
“They’re going to have to find that fourth guy, because you always want to have a good four or five, just in case you do come up with an injury. I know they had (Kalif) Raymond and they had (Cameron) Batson. But those guys, moving into next year, are going to have to step it up a lot more with the departure of Tajae.”
Douglas says he believes the Titans have done a good job overall of getting quarterback Ryan Tannehill the offensive weapons he needs for the team to be successful in 2020.
“I think it all starts with two key components,” Douglas said. “Number one is Derrick Henry. He’s a hell of a player. One of the best in the National Football League. His work ethic. A lot of people see his success, but they don’t see the behind-the-scenes. I think it’s one of the best I’ve ever seen of all the years I’ve played in the NFL and covered the NFL.”
He also mentioned the importance of a strong Titans offensive line, particularly left tackle Taylor Lewan and center Ben Jones.
“Both of those guys, I love their attitudes,” Douglas said. “You’ve lost (Jack Conklin) to the Cleveland Browns, but you drafted a guy in the first round, and hopefully all of those guys can pick it up a little bit more going into the season.”
While many analysts have predicted the Titans won’t have a repeat of what they were able to put together in 2019, Douglas believes the team will be even stronger than it was last year.
“Now you’ve got the nucleus and the weapons outside, and I think the offense is going to push more this year. Yes, they’re going to run the football, but I think that year under the belt for all the receivers and Tannehill with the way he performed last year, I think they’re going to be even better this year.”