NFL

The NFL's 5 Most Improved Offenses Entering 2017

Austan Kas  —  @AustanKas Jun 21st, 2017
Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse the slideshow

Tennessee Titans

Starting last offseason, the Tennessee Titans have been busy surrounding Marcus Mariota with talented playmakers.

Last spring, Tennessee drafted Derrick Henry, traded for DeMarco Murray and signed Rishard Matthews. They zeroed in on the passing game this offseason, adding Corey Davis with the fifth overall pick and signing Eric Decker earlier this week.

Things sure look to be on the up and up for the Titans.

It all starts with Mariota. After a decent rookie campaign, he took the proverbial step last season in Year 2, finishing the campaign ranked 11th in Passing NEP per drop back among the 39 quarterbacks with at least 100 drop backs.

Matthews and Delanie Walker were Mariota's bread and butter in the aerial attack. Among wideouts with at least 100 targets, Matthews finished seventh in Reception NEP per target as he went for 995 yards and 9 touchdowns. Walker ended the season with 65 catches for 800 yards and 7 scores, checking in fourth in Reception NEP among tight ends who saw at least 40 looks.

The play of those two masked the fact that Tennessee didn't really have another worthwhile option in the passing game among tight ends or receivers. Tajae Sharpe turned 83 targets into 41 grabs, which led to him finishing 59th in Reception NEP per target among the 62 wideouts with at least 80 targets.

Decker and Davis are going to be a big improvement on that.

In 2015, his last full season, Decker ranked seventh in Reception NEP per target among receivers with at least 100 looks. He's a quality receiver who gives Mariota a proven option in the red zone as he's scored 14 times in his last 18 games.

As for Davis, his college touchdown production is about as good as it gets. He accounted for 19 of Western Michigan's 33 receiving touchdowns last season (57.6% receiving touchdown market share) and racked up at least 1,400 yards in each of his last three collegiate campaigns.


The Titans added one more noteworthy pass catcher, trading up to select Taywan Taylor 72nd overall. Taylor has an enticing resume as he posted some gaudy market share numbers and then had himself a nice little combine, amassing an agility score which ranked in the 92nd percentile, per PlayerProfiler.com. Early reports have been good, but 95% of early reports on players not named Christian Hackenberg are good, so grains of salt are in order.

With Henry and Murray in the fold, "exotic smashmouth" should be lit as ever, and now the Titans could have a potent passing game to support their rushing attack. If Mariota keeps improving, the Titans may reach the postseason for the first time since 2008.

Prev Next