Tennessee Titans: Dorial Green-Beckham ready to shine?

This Sunday, the 2-8 Tennessee Titans will take on the Oakland Raiders with their hopes of the AFC South crown barely intact following last week’s primetime loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, so can a young player like Dorial Green-Beckham emerge as a much-needed X-Factor to give Mike Mularkey‘s team a boost?

Harry Douglas has unsurprisingly been a disastrous free agent signing after riding Matt Ryan‘s coattails during his time with the Atlanta Falcons, approaching-bust-status wideout Justin Hunter is done for the season, and No. 1 receiver Kendall Wright is only starting to return to the starting lineup for the Tennessee Titans.

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While the Titans are lacking both in depth and talent at the skill positions, they do have two of the NFL’s most reliable targets in Delanie Walker and Wright, as well as a potentially adequate starting running back in Antonio Andrews. What’s definitively missing from the Titans offense is any element of a playmaking threat, beyond the occasional explosive play Dexter McCluster springs when he gets into space.

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Dorial Green-Beckham was taken in the second round of the draft for a reason, and the Titans had to have been high on him when they elected to spend a pick on him. Thanks to how poorly Hunter played prior to his injury, all of Green-Beckham’s opportunities this season are of the golden variety, since he can cement his place as the team’s “X” receiver of the future with promising performances.

Look, the Titans and everybody else who has followed DGB’s career at least somewhat remotely understands that he’s raw. He’s going to continue to drop passes, and he won’t have the stabilizing effect that Walker and Wright have on a young quarterback like Marcus Mariota.

What the Titans need from Green-Beckham for the remainder of the 2015 season is a playmaking element, and all DGB needs to do is use his size/speed combination well enough to compensate for his current deficiencies in the other parts of his game. The hope will be that he can grow into a more well-rounded receiver, but the Titans need him to be a vertical threat and red zone threat in the short-term. Basically, they need him to be a legitimate outside option, because it’s been a while since the Titans had that kind of a receiver.

On Sunday, the Oakland Raiders beckon, and they have predictably fielded one of the NFL’s worst defenses with 25.9 points per game allowed. Only three teams allow more yards per game than Oakland and just two allow more passing yards and first downs. Teams throw the football against Jack Del Rio‘s defense with reckless abandon, since the Raiders new head coach has inherited a secondary with just two pieces of note; interception-machine Charles Woodson and talented young CB T.J. Carrie.

Whenever a wide receiver finds themselves not being covered by Carrie, good things are bound to happen against the Raiders. David Amerson can make plays, but he’s one of the most burn-prone corners in the NFL. I mean, even the Washington Redskins decided he wasn’t good enough to earn a spot with their cornerbacks. Meanwhile, D.J. Hayden looks like an even more massive flop with each passing game.

All of this presents Green-Beckham with a shot to shine in Week 12. Mularkey, as per TitanInsider.com’s Terry McCormick, expects Wright to return, which should open things up for the 22-year-old rookie on the outside. Mariota hasn’t been an aggressive or successful deep passer this season, but DGB should theoretically be able to use his size in other ways, including in the red zone.

Basically, DGB has to find some way to make a significant impact on this game, because he will get to face a defense that helped the Detroit Lions struggling offense have a coming-out party in Week 11. The only QB they held under 250 passing yards was Teddy Bridgewater, and that’s because Adrian Peterson ran for 203! Who needs to pass in a 30-14 game in which your opponents cannot stop your future Hall of Fame running back?

Andrews isn’t a Hall of Fame-type running back (OK, fine, maybe we don’t quite know that for sure), so we can expect the Titans to do what every other team that has faced the Raiders has done to this point; throw the football with a good deal of frequency. The Raiders offense is 11th in scoring and among the top ten in net yards per pass attempt, and they also have a strong running game behind feature back Latavius Murray.

Sep 20, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Tennessee Titans wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham (17) catches a fourth quarter touchdown over Cleveland Browns cornerback Joe Haden (23) at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Browns won 28-14. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

So the Titans will need to find their rhythm offensively after scoring a combined 23 points in their past two games.

Outside of three outbursts of at least 30 points, Tennessee has been held to 14 points or less in all of their other games. Mariota badly needs consistency out of his skill position players, and getting a real spark from DGB would be a big first step.

With Wright back on the field and a favorable matchup on the horizon, the spotlight shifts to Green-Beckham when looking at the Titans offense.

His talent is undeniable, and he’s already provided this offense with some value by averaging a team-high 14.7 yards per reception. Now, it’s time to see if he can do a little bit more, as a 46.9% catch rate isn’t exactly the most efficient clip to boast.

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A key stat? Walker leads the team with 53 receptions, but no other player has more than 28 catches. That would be Wright, who has missed three games this season. Yup, a third option needs to step up, and the Titans would prefer to have that be their athletic, second-round selection.

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