Titans' Young Offensive Stars Key to Big Jump Forward in 2016

To say the Tennessee Titans are primed for a jump forward in 2016 isn't exactly a huge stretch. After going 5-27 over the past two seasons and ranking 30th in the league offensively in 2015, there isn't anywhere for the franchise to go but up.

However, there's a palpable optimism around the team this year. Genuine optimism that the Titans may be ready to shed their identity as the doormats of the NFL's weakest division, in large part due to the young talent base they've accrued on offense.

In the NFL, it all starts under center, and the Titans are confident they've found their first true franchise quarterback since Steve McNair in Marcus Mariota.

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 draft, Mariota had his ups and downs as a rookie. His first NFL start featured two incompletions, four touchdown passes and a perfect 158.3 passer rating. For the season he posted a plus-nine touchdown-to-interception ratio and a passer rating north of 90. His 7.6 yards per attempt ranked ninth among qualifying quarterbacks.

However, Mariota managed only 2,818 passing yards as a rookie, partly because he missed four games. Pro Football Focus graded him 21st at the position, eight spots behind fellow newcomer Jameis Winston. Including lost fumbles, the Oregon product turned the ball over an average of 1.33 times per game.

In short, it was a rookie season. Equal parts promise and problems.

As ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky wrote, head coach Mike Mularkey indicated Mariota spent OTAs working on the latter—from his decision-making to deep ball placement:

"

I think [Mariota] is working on it in everything he does. I know it's important to him. We're going to air it out. We've got to be able to throw the ball deep. I've seen an improvement on him. I'd just like to see more plays made when the ball's up there.

We've had chances to make plays. He's giving guys opportunities to make plays down the field. I need to see them make them, and he needs them to make them, for confidence.

"

Mariota told Dave Johnson of the Daily Press his confidence is just fine and he welcomes the pressure that comes with being a starting quarterback at the sport's highest level and the face of a franchise.

"I try not to focus on it too much," Mariota said. "All I want to do is be myself, work hard and earn the respect of the guys in the locker room. That should hopefully bring some wins."

More than a few pundits anticipate Mariota and the Titans opening things up more in 2016. The second-year signal-caller said he's willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done—including the exact opposite.

"I told Coach Mike (Mularkey) that I'll hand the ball off 40 times a game if we win games," Mariota told Johnson. "That's what's important to me, to giving us an opportunity to win."

A year ago, the notion of the Titans cramming the ball down an opponent's throat wasn't so much an option. Tennessee was 25th in the NFL in rushing at 92.8 yards per game. The team's leading rusher (Antonio Andrews) had all of 520 yards on the ground. Mariota was second with 252 rushing yards.

It's a fair bet the Titans' leading rusher will have a bit more than that in 2016, because the team completely overhauled its backfield in the offseason.

First, the Titans made a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles to acquire tailback DeMarco Murray. Two years ago, Murray topped 1,800 yards on the ground and won Offensive Player of the Year honors with the Dallas Cowboys. Last year...well, last year Murray stank after signing a big free-agent deal to join the Eagles.

Some blamed Murray's heavy 2014 workload. Others faulted a Chip Kelly offense that called for the north-south runner to spend a lot of time parallel to the line of scrimmage. Others blamed the player himself.

Murray told The Jim Rome Show he isn't making excuses, instead choosing to use last year's disappointment as this season's motivation:

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It's hard to look back, but it was a great season two years ago and it definitely was a tough one last year. But I think from both seasons, I took some positives things from it and learned and appreciated the game more and appreciated the time you have to play the sport.

Obviously it was tough last year, and I'm just looking for a huge back bounce year this year. I don't mean it individually but collectively as a team, and we know how hard we have to work to make our goals happen, and it's definitely going to take a lot of hard work.

"

The 28-year-old also said he expects to excel in a Titans scheme that will allow him to do what he does best. "It's strictly downhill and that's what I've been accustomed to my entire life," Murray said. "Nothing against last year or what happened, it just didn't work out, but I'm very excited about this upcoming season and looking forward to it."

If running downhill is the key to success for the Titans in 2016, then their other addition in the backfield should really shine.

Because Derrick Henry is all about running downhill.

En route to winning the Heisman Trophy last year, the 247-pound Henry rumbled downhill to more than 2,200 yards at Alabama. However, defensive end Jurrell Casey told Chris Wesseling of NFL.com that Henry isn't just about the power game.

"When (Henry) first walked in, I thought he was a D-end," Casey quipped. "But he's a straight running back, and he's got the speed of a running back."

Put the pair together, and the team could potentially have one of the NFL's best one-two backfield punches. Thunder and, well, more thunder.

Provided, that is, that the offensive line can open holes for them.

If they don't, it certainly won't be because the Titans didn't invest heavily at the position. Three of the last four drafts have featured first-round offensive linemen in Nashville—including 2016.

In 2013, it was Alabama guard Chance Warmack at No. 10. The next season, it was Michigan tackle Taylor Lewan at No. 11. And this past April, it was Michigan State's Jack Conklin at No. 8.

Conklin has been projected as the starter at right tackle next to Warmack, where a great deal of the Titans' run plays will likely be headed. He told Jim Wyatt of the team's website he's hopeful the notoriety of being a first-round pick soon gives way to the anonymity of an offensive lineman who does his job.

"When you hear about us, that’s usually when something has gone wrong," Conklin said. "It is how I go about my business—I am going to work hard and be quiet about it and when I see a chance to be a leader and talk about things that’s when I am going to make my mark."

Conklin was the just the latest of several pieces that seem to have fallen into place for Tennessee. The Titans appear to have their quarterback in Mariota. A backfield tandem that's light-years better on paper than what they had a year ago. And a young O-line who should be able to give the former time to throw the ball and the latter lanes to rumble through.

There's just one thing missing: a vertical passing attack to really make opponents pay when they creep up to stop Murray and Henry.

This isn't to say the cupboard is entirely bare. Tight end Delanie Walker quietly emerged as one of the most productive players at the NFL at his position, reeling in 94 passes for nearly 1,100 yards and six scores last year.

But Walker isn't a Jordan Reed or Rob Gronkowski type. He isn't going to stretch defenses or get behind them. For that to happen, one of the Titans' young receivers is going to have to emerge as a consistent threat.

So far, the team has been out of luck in that regard.

It isn't for lack of trying. The Titans invested a first-round pick in Kendall Wright back in 2012. They spent second-round picks on Justin Hunter (2013) and Dorial Green-Beckham (2015). However, outside of a 90-plus catch, 1,000-yard season from Wright in 2013, the Titans haven't gotten much back in return.

Hunter told Wyatt he's well aware heading into a contract year that it's now or never for his NFL career, especially with rookie Tajae Sharpe nipping at his heels on the depth chart. "There's another level," Hunter said. "I am definitely going to have to bring it in training camp. There's a lot of competition. ... You can't slack off because another guy is coming for your spot. I have to keep grinding."

Green-Beckham's relatively quiet rookie year wasn't a surprise given how raw the youngster was coming out of Missouri. However, Mariota told Wyatt he's expecting much bigger and better things from his biggest wideout in Year 2.

"The dude is a stud," Mariota said. "Physically, he is very gifted. ... Hopefully we can find ways to get him the football and let him do his thing."

Having Green-Beckham has also afforded the Titans the chance to move Wright inside to the slot. It's where he belongs, and where he enjoyed most of his success in his breakout sophomore season.

Mularkey told Wyatt he believes Wright is capable of recapturing that 2013 form:

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I think Kendall has potential that still has not been pulled out of him. I am talking about himself as well, doing it himself. Every offseason you hope that he recognizes that, what his capabilities are, and how bad he wants to see it as much as we do when the season starts. I’m hoping that’s the case this year.

"

The Titans also added to their receiving corps in free agency. The acquisition of Rishard Matthews may not have generated big headlines, but Matthews had a very steady season for the Miami Dolphins in 2015, setting career highs across the board in his fourth NFL season.

Matthews told Wyatt he feels right at home with his new team:

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A lot of guys are bringing a lot of energy every day. I don’t know how it was previous, but from what I have seen there’s a lot of energy and guys having fun. And you put those two and it’s a great combination. ...

So far it has been going good. Everywhere you go you see Titans fans, and you can tell they are excited. And I am just hoping we can make them more excited.

"

In theory, all the weapons are there for a valid and effective passing attack. The burner in Hunter. The lanky red-zone threat in Green-Beckham. The intermediate and underneath targets in Wright, Matthews and Walker.

Once again, the pieces are falling into place.

Of course, what looks good on paper may not mean anything once the games start to count. Mariota, who was the NFL's least effective quarterback on passes of over 20 yards last year, per ESPN Stats and Info, has to do a better job over the top.

Murray needs to shake off last year's funk. Either that, or Henry needs to be able to recapture his collegiate form in a hurry.

A Titans offensive line that already lost 2015 starter Byron Bell to a season-ending injury needs to both avoid further attrition and jell as a unit after ranking dead last in pass protection last year, according to Football Outsiders.

And the Tennessee wideouts need to start playing like the early-round picks they were.

Still, not all of those things need to happen. A developing quarterback who makes fewer mistakes, a viable ground game and the emergence of one of the receivers (say, Green-Beckham) isn't that hard to imagine. That's a combination that would produce a vastly improved Titans offense in 2016.

If that's the case, it also isn't hard to imagine them making some real noise in the AFC South.

Gary Davenport is an NFL analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter @IDPSharks.