The Titans signed DeAndre Hopkins, and I’m expecting he’ll be their most productive pass catcher. He’s more experienced than Treylon Burks. But I notice that Tennessee historically hasn’t fared well with free agent receivers.
The Titans have brought on Julio Jones, Robert Woods, Eric Decker and Adam Humphries with optimistic hopes in recent years, and all punched well below expectations. More seasoned readers may recall the team signing Yancey Thigpen to a huge deal in the ‘90s (after Thigpen had a big season for the Steelers).
Since this team moved to Tennessee, in fact, only one receiver has showed up and ranked higher than 45th at the position (that’s using PPR scoring). That would be Rishard Matthews, who was sneaky efficient with the Dolphins and caught 65 passes for 945 yards and 9 TDs in his first year with the Titans. That made him the 21st-best wide receiver that year.
TENNESSEE'S BEST WIDE RECEIVER ADDITIONS | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Player | Rec | Yds | TD | PPR | Rk | Previous | Team |
2016 | Rishard Matthews | 65 | 945 | 9 | 213.5 | 21 | 43-662-4 | Mia. |
2009 | Nate Washington | 47 | 569 | 6 | 141.4 | 45 | 40-631-3 | Pitt. |
2007 | Justin Gage | 55 | 750 | 2 | 142.0 | 47 | 4-68-0 | Chi. |
1997 | Willie Davis | 43 | 564 | 4 | 128.5 | 47 | 39-464-6 | Hou. |
2022 | Robert Woods | 53 | 527 | 2 | 117.7 | 57 | 45-556-4 | LAR |
2017 | Eric Decker | 54 | 563 | 1 | 116.3 | 58 | 9-194-2 | NYJ |
1998 | Yancey Thigpen | 38 | 493 | 3 | 105.3 | 60 | 79-1398-7 | Pitt. |
1997 | Chris Sanders | 31 | 498 | 3 | 98.0 | 61 | 48-882-4 | Hou. |
2019 | Adam Humphries | 37 | 374 | 2 | 86.5 | 80 | 76-816-5 | T.B. |
2015 | Harry Douglas | 36 | 411 | 2 | 88.5 | 83 | 51-556-2 | Atl. |
2008 | Justin McCareins | 30 | 412 | 0 | 72.0 | 85 | 19-232-0 | NYJ |
2007 | Eric Moulds | 32 | 342 | 0 | 66.2 | 88 | 57-557-1 | Hou. |
2021 | Julio Jones | 31 | 434 | 1 | 80.4 | 93 | 51-771-3 | Atl. |
1997 | Derek Russell | 12 | 141 | 1 | 32.1 | 100 | 34-421-2 | Hou. |
2014 | Derek Hagan | 19 | 254 | 1 | 50.4 | 105 | 20-259-0 | Oak. |
2000 | Carl Pickens | 10 | 242 | 0 | 34.2 | 107 | 57-737-6 | Cin. |
2021 | Chester Rogers | 30 | 301 | 1 | 67.0 | 108 | 16-179-2 | Ind. |
2006 | David Givens | 8 | 104 | 0 | 18.7 | 129 | 59-738-2 | N.E. |
2016 | Andre Johnson | 9 | 85 | 2 | 29.5 | 134 | 41-503-4 | Ind. |
2018 | Darius Jennings | 11 | 101 | 0 | 28.4 | 146 | 14-117-0 | Cle. |
2023 | DeAndre Hopkins | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 64-717-3 | Ari. |
In fairness to the Titans, the receivers who’ve left haven’t done much better. They made the controversial decision to trade A.J. Brown, who torched defenses last year, but otherwise the top 20 departing wide receivers have been pretty similar to the best of the new guys showing up.
In the chart below, the stats for the wide receivers show how they performed in their first year with their new team. The “Previous” column shows their stats in their final season with the Titans.
TENNESSEE'S MOST PRODUCTIVE DEPARTING RECEIVERS | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Player | Rec | Yds | TD | PPR | Rk | Previous |
2022 | A.J. Brown, Phil. | 88 | 1496 | 11 | 303.6 | 5 | 63-869-5 |
2005 | Derrick Mason, Balt. | 86 | 1073 | 3 | 211.3 | 19 | 96-1168-7 |
2004 | Justin McCareins, NYJ | 56 | 770 | 4 | 156.5 | 40 | 47-813-7 |
2012 | Donnie Avery, Ind. | 60 | 781 | 3 | 157.0 | 44 | 3-45-1 |
2015 | Nate Washington, Hou. | 47 | 658 | 4 | 136.8 | 49 | 40-647-2 |
2007 | Bobby Wade, Min. | 54 | 647 | 3 | 135.8 | 50 | 33-461-2 |
2021 | Kalif Raymond, Det. | 48 | 576 | 4 | 132.4 | 53 | 9-187-0 |
2017 | Kendall Wright, Chi. | 59 | 614 | 1 | 126.4 | 53 | 29-416-3 |
2014 | Kenny Britt, St.L. | 48 | 748 | 3 | 142.2 | 54 | 11-96-0 |
2021 | Corey Davis, NYJ | 34 | 492 | 4 | 107.2 | 69 | 65-984-5 |
2007 | Drew Bennett, St.L. | 33 | 375 | 3 | 88.5 | 76 | 46-737-3 |
2000 | Isaac Byrd, Car. | 22 | 241 | 2 | 58.1 | 80 | 14-261-2 |
2016 | Dorial Green-Beckham, Phil. | 36 | 392 | 2 | 87.2 | 88 | 32-549-4 |
2021 | Adam Humphries, Was. | 41 | 383 | 0 | 79.3 | 94 | 23-228-2 |
2022 | Julio Jones, T.B. | 24 | 299 | 2 | 70.4 | 96 | 31-434-1 |
2015 | Marc Mariani, Chi. | 22 | 300 | 0 | 52.0 | 108 | 5-24-0 |
2005 | Jason McAddley, S.F. | 7 | 125 | 0 | 19.5 | 136 | 2-38-0 |
2017 | Tre McBride, Chi. | 8 | 144 | 0 | 22.4 | 137 | 2-8-1 |
2010 | Roydell Williams, Was. | 8 | 109 | 0 | 18.9 | 145 | 55-719-4 |
2022 | Marcus Johnson, NYG | 9 | 99 | 0 | 18.9 | 152 | 9-160-0 |
—Ian Allan