Note: While much of the research on fantasy football is trying to assess how players will perform when they join a new team, it is also important to be aware of what the old team is doing to replace those players. It is an opportunity for players to step up and fill the gap. In this series, we’ll look at six teams that have had key exits this off-season and need to find new ways to replace the fantastic production key.
One of the heaviest offenses in the NFL has a lot to compensate for in his game.
The Tennessee Titans the NFL leader’s empty goal percentage this season by a wide margin. Nashville’s total passing pie isn’t that big – the team has been down 10 in the passing attempts and has been in the top 10 in the last three seasons in the running attempts – but a big part is behind the AJ. Brown was traded, Julio Jones was released, and Anthony Firkser was released from the agency.
The 2021 AFC No. 1 goal of 2021 is at stake. That’s what left him with no second goal in the NFL, behind the Chiefs (360). Due to Tennessee’s low pass rate, these 351 targets are a whopping 67.1% of the total, according to 4for4.com.
Brown had 105 goals in 2021, Jones was third in the team with 48 and Firkser and Chester Rogers were tied with free agent in fourth place with 43. He is the Chief Translator of Tennessee Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. He scored a goal 57 times a season ago, his second on the team.
Of course, the Titans ’attack revolves around defender Derrick Henry, who lost his first nine games in the running yards in 2021 despite losing nine games. This forced the team to trust him Ryan TannehillIt had a more frequent arm in the second half of 2021, and its production fell as a result. Coach Mike Vrabel hopes to once again bend a lot to a healthy Henry, which means there could be even fewer goals.
Tennessee’s execution dependency doesn’t negate the gap in its receiving room, and it works for fantasy managers depending on how it’s filled. The Titans front office acknowledged that he missed out on the season and brought in three pass catchers to fill that gap. Replace replacements.
Treylon Burks
Burks is Brown’s successor. Tennessee used Option 18 in this year’s draft, buying Brown from Philadelphia to trade for his replacement. With that selection, the Titans got what they expect to be Brown 2.0, cheaper. Burks collected 1,104 yards and 11 touchdowns in 66 catches in Arkansas in his junior year. He did better than 16 meters per catch on average in college and is a dynamic threat to catch meters.
The recent history of a quick impact on first-year recipients is promising for Tennessee’s first rounds. Burks’ workload may be similar to that of his predecessor — he will have to do a lot with little. Brown saw 84 finishers as a starter and managed to turn 52 catches into 1,051 yards. The stock market has many differences, but it will not have a monopoly on the target share.
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My colleague Michael Fabiano named Burks the winner among the novice players in the skill position, and wrote: “While Burks is still working on his career, he has a lot of goals to see in an attack with little experience in the open. Beyond Robert Woods.” This leads us to catch our next Titans pass.
Robert Woods
The former Rams receiver broke his ACL in November, and was moved to the Titans out of season for a sixth-round pick in 2023. He was on the OTA field with a knee brace and showed no signs of lameness. Woods also offered a positive update on injury recovery in a recent public appearance.
With more than 7,000 yards of career and a couple of seasons in his hand, Woods is Tennessee’s most experienced receiver. He had 556 yards on 45 catches in nine games in 2021. Woods has never been a deep threat or a volume-scoring touchdown. However, he is a strong receiver of possession, a force that will block him from joining the smashmouth identity of Tennessee.
It is unclear how he will bounce back from his injury. Until last season, Woods never lost more than four games in a season. The number of targets he sees, regardless of his recovery, will only be reduced by the nature of the Titan crime. Woods has directed 129 times in his last season; Titan hasn’t seen so many goals since 2015. Woods is accustomed to sharing the workload after playing with Cooper Kupp in LA for years, and his skill set is very different from Burks. They should make 1-2 respectable couples.
Austin Hooper
Hooper’s fantastic renaissance could come in Nashville. His two seasons with Browns were disappointing considering what he showed with Falcons. While Hooper may not be aware of the TE1 trends of his time in Atlanta, he is a much better target for Tannehill than Firkser or Geoff Swaim, neither of whom broke 300 yards last season.
Tannehill has a positive history when it comes to focusing on narrow ends. Despite limited chances last season, he went from seven of his 21 touchdowns to seven tight ones. Jonnu Smith was one of Tannehill’s favorite targets last season. Smith made 41 passes for 448 yards and eight touchdowns in 2020, the team’s second-highest. The depressed numbers Hooper received in Cleveland were partly due to the Browns’ tendency to run the ball, much like the Titans. If so, his 6’4 “frame will be useful around the goal line.
Returning Players
Given that Tennessee lost their catchers and their subsequent moves to fill those gaps, there is not much faith in the players in the skill position who are returning. Often, empty goals are focused on the defensive position, but that won’t be the case for Henry, who has fewer than 100 career catches.
The Titans ’presumptuous WR3 and high-return receiver, Westbrook-Ikhine, doesn’t have much of a pre-season forecast from a fantasy standpoint. Tennessee opted to return the one-year contract, but if Woods is healthy in Week 1, don’t expect to see him employed in many sets of three wide receivers: the Titans employed 11 employees at the third lowest level. NFL, according to Sharp Football Stats.
Tennessee has 12 employees above the league average rate, which would often include Geoff Swaim’s return to the field with Hooper. Nashville’s new faces will lead the team to capture the pass, but Tannehill meets Westbrook-Ikhine and Swaim. There are still profiles as fantastic helpers.
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