Tennessee Titans: Expectations for Terrance West

With fifth-round pick David Cobb on the short-term injured reserve, the Tennessee Titans new “big back” in their uncertain committee is former Cleveland Browns third-round pick Terrance West, who was very clearly over-drafted on the strength of his production as a small-school prospect from Towson. West was thrown in Mike Pettine’s doghouse on numerous occasions, including this offseason, culminating in the Browns shopping him around the league.

ALSO ON SPIN ZONE: Do The Titans Have A Top 50 Wide Receiver?

The RB-needy Dallas Cowboys, who have since scooped up former Texas A&M star Christine Michael, were mentioned as a team involved in West talks, but it was the Titans who shipped off a conditional seventh-round pick to the Browns for West. The conditional seventh-round pick has essentially become something of a priority waiver claim this offseason, which is a welcome sign that teams are becoming more aggressive when it comes to trying to take gambles on other team’s “trash”.

More from Tennessee Titans

West was a third-round pick just a couple of seasons ago and doesn’t qualify as rubbish yet, but the Browns were quick to toss him aside. The apparent character concerns are the flimsiest layer when it comes to examining why West fell out of favor in Cleveland, because the simplest explanation for him being jettisoned out of the Browns organization is that his play on the field was wholly lacking.

As a running back with sub-4.5 speed, below-average agility, mediocre quickness, subpar work on third downs, and fumbling issues, West had to be efficient as a rookie. Instead, Isaiah Crowell beat him in the yards per carry department, as West averaged an unimpressive 3.9 yards per carry, failing to make defenders miss.

There are reasons to believe that the Titans can get a little bit more out of the 24-year-old, because while West’s physical tools are lacking, he has good vision and runs like a bowling ball in between the tackles at his best. West showed off real touchdown-scoring value last season with four TDs, though it is true that Crowell, who is 5’11”, 225 pounds, doubled him up in that department in eight touchdowns.

But now that West is on the Titans, comparisons to Crowell are completely irrelevant. And with Cobb injured, the only players that affect West for the next couple of months are second-year pro Bishop Sankey and gadget player Dexter McCluster. However, the player who figures to provide West the most direct competition is short-yardage back Antonio Andrews, so West could still have to work for carries that could lead to touchdowns.

Sankey showed a knack for making defenders miss last year, but he was frustratingly inconsistent and equally over-drafted in the 2014 class. With the disclaimer that he played behind a much worse offensive line (even considering the fact that Alex Mack missed the majority of the 2014 season), Sankey was even less efficient last season with just 3.7 yards per carry.

A full two years younger than West, Sankey’s quickness gives him more upside in the Titans offense, and, as per Pro Football Focus, he was 14th in the league in yards after contact per carry and tenth in PFF’s Elusive Rating. The problem is that Trent Richardson was ninth in elusive rating and Anthony Dixon was 14th in yards after contact per carry. Both of these backs averaged 3.3 and 4.1 yards per carry, respectively, last season, which serves to underscore the fact that Sankey’s promising metrics are inconclusive, especially in the face of his meager 3.7 yards per carry.

Bringing in West as a bigger back makes sense for the Tennessee Titans, especially since they paid far less for him than what the Browns did when they drafted him. That’s all for good reason, of course, since West’s work ethic was repeatedly called into question and, more fundamentally, he struggled mightily as a rookie. I mean, 2.22 yards after contact per carry for a non-playmaking RB is pretty awful, as West was also 32nd out of 42 qualifiers in a PFF stat that tracks the percentage of 15+ runs an RB has.

Even though Terrance West was ineffective for the Browns last season and caused them headaches, there’s a chance he could prove to be serviceable for the Titans in 2015. Cobb’s injury creates an opening for him in the committee, and West could thus fill a niche role with his work in short-yardage situations (particularly when the Titans get close to the end zone) potentially being key for the offense.

Just as I admire the Browns for quickly moving on from a player who was never going to help them and likely burned one bridge too many in Cleveland, I also admire the Titans for taking a gamble on him. They had the No. 2 waiver claim and thus didn’t have to ship even a conditional pick off for a player who would have been released anyway, but it’s still a move that could prove to help them, particularly in the short-term with Cobb injured.

Next: Who Are The NFL's Most Overpaid Players?

More from NFL Spin Zone

Home/Tennessee Titans