Mike Mularkey Comments on Dorial Green-Beckham, Titans Wide Receivers

Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Mularkey said on Friday that the offense needs its wide receivers to be better in 2016 and he'll be keeping a close eye on that group, according to John Glennon of the Tennessean:     

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[The receivers] all know they’re going to be coached harder than any position there is. First of all, because it needs to improve. There’s no question about that. If there’s a position on this team that could be better, it’s that one.

We’re going to be in their ear. We’re not going to accept anything that’s not the best from them. If they don’t show that, we’re going to find someone that understands that.

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The Titans finished the 2015 season with the 10th-fewest team receiving yards and the 12th-fewest receptions. Much of that production came from tight end Delanie Walker, who caught 94 passes for 1,088 yards.

Wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham was a bright spot. He led the team's receivers with 549 yards and four touchdowns as a rookie. Mularkey noted that Green-Beckham will need to overcome a nagging hamstring injury, which plagued him last season as well, before re-establishing himself in the team's passing game.

"He’s not done a lot of work because he tweaked his hamstring like a year ago,” Mularkey said, per Glennon. “So he’s got some work to do.”

With the addition of DeMarco Murray to boost a running game that ranked as the eighth worst in the NFL in terms of yardage, Tennessee needs to improve its boundary passing attack to balance out its offense.

This means that Green-Beckham, new addition Rishard Matthews and Kendall Wright need to take some pressure off of quarterback Marcus Mariota in his second NFL season by making plays for him. If this group fails to elevate its game, opposing defenses will focus on stopping Murray. This puts Mariota in obvious passing situations, which could lead to more sacks. In a division with the Houston Texans' J.J. Watt, that is bad news.

Standing at 6'5", Green-Beckham has the most potential of the group as a red-zone target who also has the speed (4.49-second 40-yard dash) to play every down. If he can continue to build off of a solid rookie campaign, the 23-year-old will be highly valuable to the Titans as a go-to target for Mariota.

All statistics are courtesy of ESPN.com.