Titans Should Consider Trading Justin Hunter Before It's Too Late

It is very, very easy to fall for what Justin Hunter can do on a football field. 

The 23-year-old receiver has off-the-charts raw athletic ability, and when he plays up to it, he can make plays that remind onlookers of Randy Moss. 

But he hasn't played up to those tools yet, sporting just a 35 percent catch rate through four games with some ugly drops. According to Football Outsiders, the only wideout with a lower catch rate among qualifying players is Nate Washington. (Yeah, passing has been tough sledding in Tennessee this year.)

Year	DVOA (FO)	Catch Rate (FO)	PFF Rating
2013	-3.6%	43%	-0.6
2014	-31.0%	35%	-1.5

This isn't materially different than the 43 percent catch rate he put up last season, and while the Tennessee Titans quarterbacks have rightfully earned some of the blame for this, Hunter hasn't exactly faced a gauntlet of talented cornerbacks. In fact, given the circumstances that Hunter has played under—with Tennessee playing from behind most of the season—his stat line is a massive disappointment. 

Which is why it's somewhat intriguing that Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean passed along a rumor that would have the Titans trading Hunter to the Cleveland Browns for Isaiah Crowell. 

I have my doubts about the authenticity of this rumor. The Titans have done weird things to try to motivate Hunter before, including putting him in a Just A Guy jersey during training camp. I'm not above speculating that this is another ploy to try to get Hunter's attention to focus on improving his game. 

But let's not dismiss it completely out of hand. There are two possible Titans viewpoints: They can either believe that Hunter still has potential to improve and he's at the nadir of his value, which means they need to keep him and focus on fixing his issues. A player with his skill set should be one of the best receivers in the NFL.

Or they can believe that this is the Justin Hunter we're going to see from now on and that they should trade him before he fully completes his slide into being the next Stephen Hill. Athletic freaks who can't integrate the techniques they need to succeed as an NFL wideout are not rare things. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the Titans have seen enough from Hunter. 

The rumored return of Crowell is an interesting thought. Crowell has really torn it up in his limited opportunities with the Browns, and the reason Crowell went undrafted was not because of his talent—it was because of off-field issues that sent him from Georgia to Alabama State.

Ultimately I don't believe that running backs are valuable enough commodities to make a real return out of, but the Titans could pair him and Bishop Sankey to create a very versatile backfield. Crowell's strength between the tackles is a complement to Sankey's burst on the edge. 

Here's what it comes down to: If the Titans believe that the Hunter we've seen the last four games is the Hunter they'll get, they absolutely should be looking to trade him if another team still believes in him. Sure, Hunter was a second-round pick, but that second-round pick is gone.

Hunter needs to be evaluated outside of the context of his draft stock: Right now he's an extremely inconsistent receiver who hasn't converted his tools into skills. 

My sense is that if the Titans shopped Hunter, they could find a fourth-round pick. They also might be able to parlay him into filling a need position like inside linebacker or cornerback. It's not the kind of return that'll have fans elated, but it might be more of a return than they'll be able to find after the season. 

Hunter's career is at a crossroads. The Titans need to decide which way they feel it's heading. If it's in an unproductive way, they should absolutely consider trading him. Nobody is untouchable in a rebuild.

Rivers McCown is the AFC South lead writer for Bleacher Report. His work has also appeared on Football Outsiders and ESPN.com. Follow him on Twitter at @riversmccown.