How the Tennessee Titans Can Get the Most out of Justin Hunter in 2014

We saw firsthand that the Tennessee Titans are still a work in progress after taking a 16-point loss to a Dallas Cowboys team that is average at best. It proved that this team falls somewhere in between how we felt about them after the Chiefs win and how we may feel about them after a lopsided loss to a mediocre team.

A lot of the optimism around the Titans falls from their recharged offense that has several young playmakers. Perhaps the biggest one is Justin Hunter, and he's expect to make a major leap in production in his second NFL season.

It was easy to get pumped about Hunter's 2014 potential after what he did in the preseason.

However, his numbers have left a lot be desired in two regular-season games:

Player	Targets	Rec.	Yards	TD	Long
Justin Hunter	14	5	89	0	39

John Glennon of The Tennessean reported that Jake Locker's quarterback rating is below 60 when targeting Hunter, via Pro Football Focus.

That tells me that teams are beginning to respect Hunter's abilities, and the Titans are going to have to get more creative to get Hunter his touches. It doesn't mean they should force the ball to Hunter, but it does mean they should get more creative.

Hunter also saw fewer offensive snaps than Kendall Wright and Nate Washington against the Cowboys.

Simply put, Hunter is too talented to have only 14 targets over the first two games. It's not like the Titans are loaded with undeniable receiver talent and Hunter is just simply buried on the roster. He is this team's best offensive weapon and has to be involved early and often.

Jake Locker admitted that he missed some open guys in the loss to the Cowboys, via Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean:

"

#Titans QB Jake Locker on early struggles: "We just couldn't find a rhythm. Had some guys open and missed them."

— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) September 14, 2014"

Locker is the obvious X-factor as to how much this offense can get out of Hunter's talents. If he doesn't have a reliable quarterback to get him the ball, we'll never know how high his ceiling really is for 2014.

As big of a deep threat as Hunter is, using him on intermediate routes can also be very effective. Opposing defenses have to respect him on the short routes to open up the potential to connect on the deep routes, which is obviously where Hunter is most dangerous. I need to see more plays designed for Hunter, not just simple deep routes to utilize his speed.

Bill Haber/Associated Press

Hunter also has to be the main option when the Titans do get into the red zone. The Titans can't afford to settle for field goals in the red zone. That's especially true when facing elite opponents like their next two on the schedule, the Bengals and Colts.

The Titans have that red-zone threat that they've missed for several years, and the offense has to find creative ways to let Hunter use his skills to make plays. The fade route looked to be unstoppable just a couple of weeks ago.

The Titans face a challenging Bengals defense in Week 3 who just got done holding a high-powered Falcons offense to 10 points. They're 2-0 and look to be a legit contender in the AFC.

For this offense to be as good as we thought it could be heading into this season, Hunter has to play a big part in that going forward. Otherwise, the Week 2 performance against the Cowboys will become a regular occurrence, and it may get even uglier in Week 3.