The Tennessee Titans were among the NFL leaders in targets to tight ends per game last season, but ranked dead-last in running back targets and near the bottom of the league in wide receiver targets per contest.
According to Max Wroblewski of Cover 1, the Titans were fifth in the NFL with 8.6 tight end targets per game, but ranked 26th in attempts per contest to wide receivers with 16.8 and 32nd to running backs with 3.6.
The Titans’ number of targets per game to each position will always be a bit skewed when compared to a lot of teams. That’s because Tennessee sports a run-first offense and had the third-fewest pass attempts in total last season.
How did each teams distribute passes to each position group last year?
Wide Receiver targets per game 👇
Most – PIT, BUF, DAL
Least – BAL, LV, CLE pic.twitter.com/gh0eoodvh8— Max Wroblewski (@MafiaNumbers) May 28, 2021
Running Back targets per game 👇
Most: WFT, LAC, MIA
Least: TEN, BAL, DEN pic.twitter.com/SWdrG9riht— Max Wroblewski (@MafiaNumbers) May 28, 2021
Further skewing these numbers a bit is the fact that they don’t account for players lining up in different spots on the formation.
For example, when tight end Anthony Firkser was given looks while lining up in the slot, his targets are still considered of the tight end variety despite lining up in a wide receiver spot.
A slightly better way to figure things out in terms of how the Titans utilize and prioritize different positions in the passing game while taking into account their style of offense is to look at target share.
The Titans threw 485 passes in 2020, or about 30.3 per game. That means Tennessee’s wide receivers saw a shade over 55 percent target share, followed by tight end at a little under 29 percent.
Clearly quarterback Ryan Tannehill likes to target his tight ends at a high rate compared to other teams, which could be a bit problematic in 2021 when you consider the Titans haven’t done anything significant at the position after losing Jonnu Smith, who accounted for about half of the tight end targets per contest.
Tennessee also has a depth issue at the wide receiver position after losing Corey Davis and parting ways with Adam Humphries. The former was responsible for about one-third of the receiver targets per game last year.
One position that could cut into the target shares of both of those positions is running back, as the Titans figure to get 2020 third-round pick Darrynton Evans more involved in the passing game as long as he’s healthy.
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