Titans Should Look to Double-Tap Wideout with Jeremy Maclin, Draft Pick

For years, critics have said that the Tennessee Titans lacked an identity. They now have one. An unenviable one. As the team with one of the weakest rosters in the NFL. It takes a lot of wish-casting to deem Zach Mettenberger a starting quarterback. And just as much to think Blidi Wreh-Wilson a solution at corner. But even beyond unproductive youth, this is a team with more holes than a colander. 

Let's assume the Titans won't select quarterbacks Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota. I think this is a safe assumption given what we've been hearing out of Nashville. It's...not the brightest moment for the Titans front office in my view. But if Mettenberger is the unwieldy ship they've chosen, they need to make sure he has no excuses for failure beyond his own. 

And here's where we get to the Titans wide receiver corps. If you hadn't heard of some of the names on this depth chart last year, it doesn't make you a bad football fan. Nobody knows who Derek Hagan is, anyway. (And "Kris Durham" has to be a stage name.) Kendall Wright's injury woes and Justin Hunter's disappointing season opened the door. They allowed Durham and Hagan to play 425 snaps for a professional football team last season. You can look it up Unsurprisingly, they finished 30th in Football Outsiders' passing DVOA. 

Steady veteran Nate Washington's return is also looking uncertain, per The Tennessean's Jim Wyatt. That means there's a startling lack of depth at the position for Tennessee. 

Hunter's failure to produce despite his optimal game script and a ton of opportunities tells us a lot about his future in the NFL. I think Wright has a bounce-back season in him. Especially given how good he was in 2013. But even if he does, Tennessee could use a few new weapons to surround Wright, tight end Delanie Walker and the remnants of Hunter's promise. 

Which is why, as I advocated with the Colts and edge-rushers, I think the Titans need to do a double-tap at the position. A steady veteran to start, and a promising rookie in reserve. Without that commitment, general manager Ruston Webster can't discern Mettenberger's future. And, as that is the most important thing for Tennessee next season, it should be a big priority. 

Player	Snaps	DYAR	DVOA	Free Agent?
Kendall Wright	678	66	-3.4%	No
Nate Washington	782	96	5.1%	Yes
Justin Hunter	605	-5	-13.5%	No
Derek Hagan	316	0	-12.7%	Yes
Kris Durham	109	-28	-46.3%	No

In a rare instance of good fortune, both the free-agent class and draft pool look to be deep at wide receiver. Additionally, the Titans hit free agency with the fifth-most projected cap space of any team. 

Team	Space
JAX	$61.9 million
OAK	$51.9 million
CLE	$51.7 million
NYJ	$48.9 million
TEN	$42.1 million

My guess is that, given how Webster has run the team, he'll be looking for an undervalued option at the position. It will definitely be a buyer's market for wideouts. Especially if we see rumored releases like Vincent Jackson in Tampa Bay come through. 

If I were running the Titans, I think the guy I'd go after is Eagles wideout Jeremy Maclin. He's not going to burn anybody on pure speed, but Maclin has proven he can get open against man coverage. There's not a receiver on this team who can do that right now. Tennessee could also gamble on a rebound from 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree, who had a down year in 2014. Crabtree should come cheap. 

Player	Snaps	DYAR (Rk)	DVOA (Rk)	Catch Rate
Randall Cobb	943	478 (4)	35.5% (1)	72%
Jeremy Maclin	1043	220 (19)	7.2% (30)	59%
Torrey Smith	801	309 (10)	26.5% (8)	53%
Michael Crabtree	740	17 (63)	-10.7% (63)	63%

If the Titans don't select Winston or Mariota, I expect they'll spend the second pick on a defensive player. New defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau is going to have a mandate to improve the personnel, and I don't think Amari Cooper is a good use of the No. 2 overall pick. Defensive tackle Leonard Williams of USC or the highest-ranked edge-rusher on their board, be it Randy Gregory of Nebraska or someone like Dante Fowler from Florida, is what I'd predict. In either of those scenarios, that should free up the Titans to spend a Day 2 pick at wideout. 

The ideal solution for the Titans is to find themselves on the clock with Dorial Green-Beckham in their sights. He's one of the most talented wide receivers in the country. Only off-field concerns that led him to transfer from Missouri to Oklahoma have him as low as he is. 

Player	Round Projection	Overall	College
Dorial Green-Beckham	1	25	Missouri/Oklahoma
Jaelen Strong	1-2	27	Arizona State
Sammie Coates	1-2	28	Auburn
Devin Funchess	1-2	32	Michigan
Devin Smith	2	46	Ohio State
Nelson Agholor	2	51	USC

Even if they don't walk away with Green-Beckham, there are plenty of options for the Titans in the second and third rounds. Rotoworld's Josh Norris has ranked no fewer than 18 receivers in his personal top 100. 

The key takeaway isn't the kind of receiver the Titans wind up with. I think there's plenty of room to debate who their targets should be. They could even bring Washington back. 

But they need to have a pair of credible additions at the position. If they can't even muster that, all it will do is kick the Mettenberger can down the road another season. With another bevy of excuses. 

Even if it means they have to overspend, the Titans have to find out if Mettenberger can be the guy. 

All DYAR and DVOA numbers cited are courtesy of Football Outsiders. Learn more about DVOA here.

 

Rivers McCown is the AFC South lead writer for Bleacher Report and the co-host of the Three-Cone Drill podcast. His work has also appeared on Football Outsiders and ESPN.com. Follow him on Twitter at @riversmccown.