The Tennessee Titans are in desperate need of wide receiver help but have done nothing to address the position in free agency, leaving the 2023 NFL draft as the best avenue to do so moving forward.
As if we needed a reminder of just how bleak things were at the position last year and going into this year, there are three stats that perfectly display those facts.
According to analyst Warren Sharp, the Titans ranked dead last in the NFL in receiving yards from receivers out wide in 2022, totaling 1,064, which was 129 yards less than the next closest team.
And, per AtoZ Sports Nashville’s Sam Phalen, the Titans are set to enter the 2023 campaign without having a single wide receiver posting a 500-yard season in their careers, something the franchise has never seen.
Also per Phalen, the Titans are just one of two teams in the NFL to not have a receiver who has tallied 1,000 yards in a previous campaign on their roster currently, along with the Green Bay Packers.
No player on the #Titans current roster has a 500 receiving yard season in their career.
They have NEVER, in Titans/Oilers franchise history, began a season w/o a player with at least one prior season of 500 rec. yards.
The lack of experience in this current group is historic.
— Sam Phalen (@Sam_Phalen) April 10, 2023
There are 52 NFL players that have a 1,000+ receiving yard season in their career & are currently on a roster.
30 of 32 teams have one. The #Titans and #Packers do not.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine leads TEN with 476 (2021).
Christian Watson leads GB with 611 (2022).— Sam Phalen (@Sam_Phalen) April 10, 2023
Tennessee’s leading receiver from 2023, Robert Woods, is no longer with the team after he was cut by the Titans earlier this offseason. Woods, who finished with 527 yards, has since signed with the Houston Texans.
Tennessee appears to have a No. 1 wideout in Treylon Burks, but there isn’t much beyond him. Kyle Philips is another promising young receiver, but the jury is still very much out on him also after an injury-plagued rookie season.
As far as experience is concerned, the Titans are lacking that, also, which is why I was a proponent of bringing in a veteran wideout in free agency. All in all, the Titans need to add experience, speed and size to check all the boxes.
As things stand now, the Titans should strongly consider taking a pair of wide receivers in this year’s draft. Our Shaun Calderon recently listed one in every round for the team to target, which you can check out here.