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After adding Josh Reynolds and Julio Jones to a wide receiver corps. that already included budding superstar wideout, A.J. Brown, the Tennessee Titans are set to have one of the better pass-catching units in the NFL in 2021.
And that’s reflected in the rankings of Pro Football Focus’ Steve Palazzolo, who places Tennessee’s group at No. 5 in the league going into the 2021 campaign. Here’s his write-up on the Titans:
Brown has been dominant in his two NFL seasons, capable of getting behind a defense and creating explosive plays after the catch. He’s averaged 17.1 yards per reception to go with 20 receiving touchdowns in his young career. Brown’s skill set is reminiscent of Jones, who has been the league’s best receiver since 2011.
Jones can win at any level and still has the size, speed and ball skills to make defenses pay if they focus too much on Brown. Just having Jones on the roster takes pressure off Josh Reynolds, who has yet to grade above 67.4 in his four-year career. He finished at 65.5 overall on a career-high 896 snaps in 2020.
The rest of the wide receiver depth chart includes unproven talent, such as Cameron Batson, Chester Rogers, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Dez Fitzpatrick and Racey McMath.
Tight end has question marks, though, with Anthony Firkser expected to take on a bigger role. Firkser is more of a “move” tight end, but he has the highest grade at the position when targeted in single coverage over the past two seasons. Veteran Geoff Swaim has just one year of grading above 70.0 in his career, while 2020 undrafted free agents Jared Pinkney and Tommy Hudson are also competing for playing time.
The Titans have a dangerous duo in Brown and Jones, but an emerging third receiver or tight end will put them in the conversation to be a top-three pass-catching unit.
Ranked ahead of the Titans are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 1), Dallas Cowboys (No. 2), Kansas City Chiefs (No. 3) and Buffalo Bills (No. 4).
While a lot of the attention is rightly on Brown and Jones, the Titans do have impressive depth in their pass-catchers beyond those two.
Reynolds should serve as a solid third option at receiver after doing so with the Los Angeles Rams last season. The Texas A&M product totaled a career-high 618 receiving yards in 2020.
Tight end Anthony Firkser is yet another passing-game weapon who could be in line for a breakout campaign, as he’s set to see an increase in snaps and quite possibly an every-down role in his fourth season.
Running back Darrynton Evans and 2021 fourth-round pick and receiver, Dez Fitzpatrick, are two more names to keep an eye as potential impact players in the passing game.
As if all of that wasn’t enough, defenses will also have to contend with star rusher Derrick Henry, who is the engine that makes Tennessee’s offense go and sets things up for Ryan Tannehill and Co.
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