Welcome to the 2016 NFL Preview. Every weekday from now until opening night, we will preview the 2016 NFL Season. This week’s schedule: Cleveland (Tuesday), San Diego (Wednesday), Dallas (Thursday), Jacksonville (Friday). We start at the bottom, with last year’s worst team, the Tennessee Titans.
TENNESSEE TITANS (3-13). 2016 opponents: NFC North, AFC West, Cleveland, & Miami
What went right in 2015: Not much. Things looked great after a 42-14 drubbing of Tampa Bay on opening day, but the Titans followed that up by losing 9 of their next 10. Marcus Mariota exhibited some growing pains, and suffered some injuries. There is already doubt about him being the long term solution to the QB position. However, Tennessee’s brass was high enough on him that they were able to rip off the Rams for the # 1 pick.
Did the Titans do better with their draft haul than the Rams did in the RG3 deal? Honestly, they didn’t have to do much, as the Rams barely have anything to show for after four years, but this is what the Titans got for what turned out to be the rights to Jared Goff.
Jack Conklin, Austin Johnson & Derrick Henry. As well as the Rams first and third rounders in 2017.
So the haul is already off to a good start. Conklin is slated to be the opening day starter at right tackle. Johnson is the starting Nose tackle going into camp, and Henry is the new change of pace back behind DeMarco Murray.
Will Murray make a difference in this team? Even bad DeMarco (ie, the one that played in Philadelphia last year) will be an improvement compared to the slugs that the Titans ran in their backfield last year. Murray was awful last year, rushing for only 702 yards. That number is still almost 200 yards better than that Titans leading rusher from a year ago (Antonio Andrews), and Murray’s six rushing TD’s were only one less than the entire squad of RB’s by the Titans a year ago. The Titans are able to move on from Dexter McCluster, David Cobb, and Bishop Sankey if they so choose. Defenses have to account for the rushing attack now a lot more than they did last year.
However, the offense will still only go as far as Marcus Mariota takes them. The passing game will be totally different this year, as Free Agent Rishard Matthews is the presumed # 1 and rookie Tajae Sharpe will be in the mix along with Kendall Wright. Tennessee brass is hoping for an improvement by second year man Dorial Green-Beckham. If one or two of these receivers can make a leap forward, the Titans should be able to make some noise against the porous defenses in their division.
Fantasy Focus: Fantasy football has finally evolved, and the experts are beginning to figure out what smart players have known for years, that receivers are where it’s at. Unless you can get a major RB (and there really are only 4 of them this year), the position to draft early is WR. There is nothing here in Tennessee that you want starting for you at all. Nobody knows if Matthews can be a legit # 1. Nobody knows if Mariota is going to be anything better than a fantasy backup. The best player here for fantasy purposes is Delanie Walker, but after the top three tight ends, they are all almost interchangeable anyway. Murray might be a sneak play; he’s definitely a value play in the later rounds.
Prediction: There are always teams in the NFL that make the leap and shock the world, but the Titans are not going to be that team in 2016. They will be in a couple of more games and be more competitive, but this team is at least a year away. More likely, two or three. A 4-12 season is the call.