Team Previews - Tennessee Titans

Projected Starting Lineup

QB: Marcus Mariota RB: Derrick Henry / Dion Lewis WR: Corey Davis WR: Rishard Matthews WR: Taywan Taylor TE: Delanie Walker

LT: Taylor Lewan LG: Quinton Spain C: Ben Jones RG: Josh Kline RT: Jack Conklin

Titans 2016-2017 Offensive Profile 2016-2017 Pass Attempts Rank: 28th, 28th 2016-2017 Rush Attempts Rank: 4th, 14th 2016-2017 Play Volume Rank: 22nd, 29th 2016-2017 Yards Per Play Rank: 11th, 18th Unaccounted for Air Yards from 2017: 898 (22nd) Unaccounted for Carries from 2017: 187 (12th) Quarterback-

Marcus Mariota looks to stay healthy and complete his first 16 game season this year. The biggest reason for celebration in Tennessee this off-season was the firing of Mike Mularkey and his ground and pound 1970's offense. The second best part, is that they got one of the best young offensive minds to call plays in Matt LeFleur. Coming from the Rams, LeFleur was the passing game coordinator last season. Back to the quarterback who has shown flashes at times but just not been consistent enough. Mariota is best when using play action (122.8) rating, something that LaFleur's offense led the league in last season at (30%) of plays. They upgraded at running back with the cutting of Demarco Murray and singing of Dion Lewis. They upgraded the passing game with a now healthy Corey Davis, Taywan Taylor to match with veterans Rishard Mathews, and old-faithful Delanie Walker. Mariota is a very accurate quarterback who completed (61.8%) of his throws with a dreadful coach. I would expect that completion percentage to rise to the mid-60s. With a ground and pound passing attack he still had one of the higher passing yards per-attempt at 7.44, which is well above the 7.04 league average. This all equates to me being sky high on the Titans offense this year and Marcus Mariota being a breakout candidate.

Wide Receiver-

With an off-season of injury issues and procedures, Corey Davis never got healthy for his rookie season. It was a very frustrating year for Davis and his fantasy owners as he should have been the focal point of the Titans passing game. The rookie put on a display against the Patriots letting us all know that we were not wrong thinking so highly of him (5-63-2TDs). The 5th pick in the 2017 draft looks poised for a breakout Sophomore season, Davis finished as the NCAA'S all-time leader in receiving yards (5,278) and (52) touchdowns. He has dominated in camp and is only going to see his ADP rise with his performances this pre-season. With his current ADP of 66, I will have some shares of Corey Davis.

Rishard Matthews has been the most consistent wide receiver in Tennessee the past two seasons and looks to take over the very involved Z receiver in LaFleur's offense. I would look for Matthews targets to remain around 6 per game and provide that consistent receiver when Mariota needs a play. Defenses will start to double Davis on the outside which should lead to a lot of open crossers for Matthews to take advantage of. Go watch the tape on Robert Woods last year if you would like to get an early glimpse of Matthews. The one concern that I have is that Matthews has been injured this pre-season. Since being out early in camp, Matthews must get healthy or Taylor will be in line for a major upgrade and late round steal. With the release of Eric Decker, the Titans will rely upon Taywan Taylor to handle the slot duties in Tennessee this year. LaFleur's slot receiver saw the most targets in L.A. and with Taylor's athletic ability, he is definitely on the sleeper radar. I would expect the Titans to use a ton of three-wide sets which makes Taylor a late round fantasy option with lots of upside. If something were to happen to Taylor, last years pre-season sensation Tajae Sharpe would take over the slot duties and potentially become a free-agent add. Tight End-

The 34-year old Delanie Walker continues his solid play which is great news for Marcus Mariota. Since entering the league, Mariota attempts 30.1% of his passes to his tight ends, which ranks as the second highest percentage in the league. Since joining the Titans, Walker has caught 356 passes (71 a Year) for 4,156 yards (831 Yr) and scored 26 touchdowns. He is one of the most consistent tight ends in the game and is in for another big year with Mariota at the controls. I highly recommend grabbing Walker if you miss on some of the higher upside tight ends in the draft.

With Walker getting up there in age, you also will want to keep an eye on the young but very athletic Jonnu Smith. He has a lot of ability and if he does fall into a starting role for the Titans he will be an immediate waiver wire pickup.

Running Back-

Thunder and lightning take on a whole new meaning with Derrick Henry and Dion Lewis, take a look at the pictures of them next to each other, it's hilarious. Henry is just a physical specimen at 6'3, 247 pounds of pure muscle. In a backup role to Murray, Henry averaged 4.3 yards per carry and 5 touchdowns a season. With Murray out in the playoffs, Henry rushed 23 times for 156 yards and a touchdown to send the Chiefs packing. He will handle a lot of the early down work and should flourish in the 4th quarter when they're running out the clock. I think he can be a touchdown monster if we see a lot of receivers going down just short of the goal-line. While he has some ability in the passing game, the singing of Dion Lewis quickly put an end to that possibility. Dion Lewis was not retained by the evil-empire allowing him to sign with the Tennessee Titans. One of the more versatile backs in the league, Lewis is coming off of his best season. He carried the ball 180 times for 896 yards (4.8 YPC) and 6 rushing touchdowns. It is no secret how much LaFleur will want to incorporate his running backs into the passing game. He learned under McVay and Shanahan, who threw the ball over 100 times to their running backs each year they have called plays. While Lewis is small 5'8/195, he is one of the best short yardage backs in the league with a success rate of 56% ranking him 4th out of 47. Lewis will handle all passing down work for the Titans this season while also getting involved in the running game. I think Lewis has more value than Henry in fantasy and am looking to get him in the mid-rounds of draft. 2018 Vegas Win Total The Titans’ Win Total opened at 8 after consecutive 9-7 finishes under Mike Mularkey. The biggest question mark for this team is it's rookie head coach Mike Vrabel. I would guess that he learned enough during his time with Patriots that he can get more wins than a Mike Mularkey coached team. With the addition of LaFleur calling plays and running a system that will much better suit his talented young quarterback, the offense should be improved dramatically. The defense should also be improved with input from Vrabel and the additions of Malcom Butler, Rashaan Evans and Harold Landry. Schedule wise, they get a huge break in having to play the NFC East and AFC East. I would be stunned if this team did not win more than 8 games and contend for it's division.