Where does the new look Tennessee Titans wide receiver room rank amongst the AFC South?
Easton Freeze and JT Ruhnke break down the Titans new wide receiver room and compare it to the rest of the league!
Video Transcript
But I'm with you on that, and I'm, I'm with you on the ceiling being the 100th percentile outcome is the best group in the league.
Because if Carnell Tate is a bona fi- not in the league, excuse me, in this division.
If Carnell Tate is a bona fide, no question wide receiver one, of which I think there's only one in the entire division right now, and his name's Nico Collins.
I think there's only one true unquestioned wide receiver one.
There's a guy in Indianapolis who they just paid to be like that, and there's a guy in Jacksonville who had a rookie year that made us all think he was that guy, but then a second year where we all had to start questioning that.
Carnell Tate could become the second this year in the best, best, best case scenario.
They also have an argument to be five deep.
I'm with you on that.
I, I think that if Elik and Chim parlay their combined 900-ish yards as rookies in a bad situation into a second year where it's like, man, those are really nice guys to have coming off the bench for you, which I think they're more than capable of being, then being five deep at receiver is, is phenomenal.
And again, that's kind of where the Texans are to me, 'cause I think Jayden Higgins is a proven starter in the NFL.
I- he may not have the, the ceiling that you'd want, from a, a true stud, but, like, I saw enough as, as a rookie for Jayden Higgins to be like, "I love having that guy as my two or three playing on the boundary."
Tank Dell, we know what he is when he's healthy.
That's just a giant question mark, and I, I grant you that.
Xavier Hutchinson is kind of an underrated player to me.
he is no stud by any means, but he's a guy I feel like we literally never talk about.
And he is, to me, he's in that mold of what I think Elik and Chim will be, where it's like, I really like that guy coming off the bench for me.
He's reliable.
I know what he does.
He's just a useful player.
He's just a useful player.
And then Jalen Noel may very well be the starting slot there this year, and may, may be the most, imp- like, the most surprisingly impressive player on that roster, 'cause I like Jalen Noel better than I like Jayden Higgins coming out of college.
Sure.
I think that he's a, a, a really talented player from the slot when used correctly, and he just didn't get a whole lot of opportunity last year.
I, I think that he's going to, to see more of that after proving himself in the few, in the few chances he got last year.
So, that's where I'm at on that group.
Now, this, that's the ceiling.
Let's talk about reality right now, as of today.
JT, my answer for where the Titans have to be Why is this overlay Can you click the overlay off?
Are we fighting?
'Cause I'm clicking it.
I was trying to help you.
Okay, well, you were, you made it worse.
that's why we need a producer to handle.
Like, we need a third neutral arbiter to handle everything.
If anyone wants to be our producer for free, let us know.
I think right now you have to put the Titans third.
I think there's really not a whole lot of an argument for them being anywhere else.
I think that the 100th percentile outcome at the end of this season is that they are first.
Do I think that's likely?
No.
I think if they are third, and mid-season, we could, we could justify putting them second.
But that's going to rely on really two big questions.
Number one, how quickly does Carnell Tate become the wide receiver one no question guy on this team/does he become that guy, right?
Like, if we're assuming he does at some point this year, how quickly is that?
That's n- that has to happen for you to move up from third, in my opinion.
And the second question is kind of a two-parter.
Part one is, does Calvin Ridley do anything for this team?
And if no, do Chimere Dike and Ella Guyaman or Bridge the gap in a way that makes you feel really good about your room anyways?
'Cause I had talked with Austin yesterday in a video that I think came out, and if it didn't already, it'll be out today.
We talked about the projections for the wide receiver room statistically, and I was, I was talking about how if Brian Daboll is smart, which I think he is, I think he leans into the luxury he has with this roster, where Calvin Ridley is the icing on top of the cake, and if he is healthy and, and if he is physically and mentally prepared to, to battle every week this, this year, he is going to be a, is really productive.
'Cause he's still arguably the most talented receiver in that room.
He can do things the rest of these guys can't do.
But unlike the past two years, you have the luxury of not making him a load-bearing pillar of this offense.
And I think a smart offensive coordinator builds the, like, build the plane out of Tate and Robinson and Dike and Ayamanor.
Build the plane out of those guys, and then let Ridley be a passenger on that plane and throw a party on that plane when he's ready to rock and roll and, and be the, the, like, the nitro turbo boost button on the little car game you'd play as a kid.
That's what Ridley needs to be for this offense.
And if he is that guy, then that's how this, this group becomes the second or maybe even the first best in the division.
Yeah.
I, the way, the way that you said that is, very funny.
So Calvin Ridley is essentially the Bullet Bill for, for this- He is the Bullet, yeah, 100%, yes.
He is the Bullet Bill for this group.
He's the blue shell you throw a couple times a game and it's like, "Oh, that's a game changer."
Well, that, that would be destroying That's like, a blue shell's a defensive player, I feel like.
Wrecks your drive.
You're right.
I guess the re- the reason that comp makes sense to me is because I think that in an ideal world, Tate becomes the guy, Wandale's a volume guy, Ridley is a guy that is healthy and available, and two or three times a game you, you use him in a way that's like, crap.
Like, they, they, you know, the, the, the high leverage situation, Ridley just beat his guy and now it's a 70-yard touchdown.
That, that's the blue shell over the top.
So it's, this is way too nerdy, but it's essentially, I see it as you, you have two items and you, you use the shock and then you use the Bullet Bill.
While everybody's small, you use Calvin Ridley to get ahead.
That's my, that's how I see it.
No, and Ball knowers will know what you're talking about.
That's fair.
Yeah.
All knowers know.
Anyways, I think I'm with you on that.
In terms of third, if I, I, there's a world in which I could already say the only way I could say that they are second right now is if I allow myself to get to bring in the projection of Carnell Tate, which I don't want to do.
Because it would be very hypocritical of me to go from yesterday's show and say, "We don't know what he's gonna be," to, "This guy's gonna be really good."
And, um- be a, a, an absolute known factor.
I can't do that.
and that's why I say, that's why I say I kind of agree with you that the third ranking right now is, I think, super fair, just because you are, you're going to have to rely on I, it's hard to say, but this all boils down to Carnell Tate, right?
Carnell Tate makes or breaks the ranking on this, because we know Wan'Dale Robinson, the other three are really unknown factors i- in this, in this room, in Calvin Ridley, if he can stay healthy, and then the other two, like you said, if they take that second year jump.
It all comes down to Carnell Tate and whether he is able to be that guy for the Titans and look like a top five selection from the draft.
Or if he takes more time, we're gonna keep continuing to say that this group is a year away, and they are third.
Well, let's, let's take a way too early swing on that, JT.
Austin and I kinda talked about this yesterday, so I wanna give you a chance to- Sure to take your shot on, on that.
W- Carnell Tate's rookie p- stat projections has him just over 1,000 yards and I think five or six touchdowns, off the top of my head.
Doesn't matter.
Around there, right?
1,000 yards, five or six touchdowns.
does that feel just right to you?
Little high, little low?
I think- What's your, what's your guess?
I, I would say that that's what it needs to be, so I think that's just right.
Not the question.
What will it be?
What will it be, JT?
I, I think it'll be 950 yards.
So you're taking the under.
Just under.
Just slightly.
All right.
Just because of the, the room.
That's where I was, basically, so that ma- I'm with you on that.
Um- I think it will be a clunky start to the year, and he will finish strong.
I, I think this whole, this whole offense will be clunky to start the year 'cause it's, there's a lot of newness.
I hope I'm wrong.
Yeah.
Sometimes teams can just hit the ground running.
But I would not be surprised if the newness makes it a little bit choppy.
Sure.
Um- And I think that's why you have Wan'Dale Robinson.
I think it's going to be a heavy start to Wan'Dale.
So, like, I would not be surprised- 100% if Wan'Dale Robinson leads the team in yards, frankly, because- In September, yeah for the first four or five weeks, like, he knows the offense.
They hit the ground running with him.
he's just gobbling up all the targets.
He's the target monster.
just gobbling up all those yards and, and- Nom, nom, nom, nom ends up where we get into a situation where, yes, Carnell Tate looks like the wide receiver one at the end of the year, but somehow Wan'Dale Robinson still has more yards just because of those first four to five weeks.
