Power Rankings: Post-Draft Offenses (26-32)

Sep 22, 2013; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans wide receiver Justin Hunter (15) celebrates scoring the winning touchdown against the San Diego Chargers with teammate Tennessee wide receiver Kendall Wright (13) during the second half at LP Field. Tennessee won 20-17. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

Tennessee Titans
Last Season’s Rankings: #22 Overall Offense (336.9 total yards per game) #21 Passing Offense (218.5 passing yards per game) #14 Rushing Offense (118.4 rushing yards per game)

With New York, Shonne Greene was a relative star in both 2011 and 2012, rushing for an average of 1,058.5 yards and seven touchdowns on 264.5 carries (4.01 yards per carry). Then Greene went to the Titans and received a second string role behind the always elusive Chris Johnson. In 2013, Green rushed for just 295 yards and four touchdowns on 77 carries (3.8 yards per carry).Thing is though, 2014 is a new year; a new year without CJ2K. Greene does have competition though with rookie RB Bishop Sankey out of the University of Washington who rushed for an average of 1,654.5 yards and 18 touchdowns on a 5.35 yards per carry average. Now the ball literally and figuratively is in Greene’s hands with this one. I expect around 600 yards and six touchdowns for Greene, considering that Sankey was so productive in college and will most likely be getting half of the carries in 2014. The only value I see in Greene is if Sankey does poorly during pre-season/training camp and Greene gets the starting nod. Overall for the Titans, I am not yet sold on Sankey nor Greene enough to consider this Titans offense legitimate quite yet. But quite me on this, I may be wrong. Sankey was able to rush for a lot of yards at the University of Washington and will be playing with fellow Husky Jake Locker, who happened to add 155 yards from outside of the line of scrimmage. Truth be told, you cannot replace Chris Johnson, however this team is going to try their best. This Tennessee rushing offense has some promise, but only if all of the parts are able to come together.

For the Titans, my main concern is not whether or not there are receivers present, but rather who will be throwing to those receivers. Before we get to QBs Jake Locker and rookie Zach Mettenberger, let’s look at all of the surrounding pieces. First off is rookie Taylor Lewan. As a senior out of the University of Michigan, many have compared the young Arizona tackle to the likes of former Michigan Wolverine Jake Long. At 6’7″ and 315, he is an absolute behemoth on the offensive line and everyone who attempts to get by him knows it.  He has quick feet and brute force of that of an NFL lineman. Another great part of Lewan’s game is that he has a tenacious ferocity to win. Although that drive to win may get him into trouble with penalties and such, I believe that is the deciding factor between a good NFL lineman and a great NFL lineman. Let’s just hope that his mean streak isn’t that of Richie Incognito. Beyond the offensive line which ranked 23rd in the league with 37 sacks allowed, the Titans have a young, but talented receiver corps. With junior WR Kendall Wright, you are getting not just a guy who can make moves down the field, but also clutch catches. During his rookie season, Wright caught for 626 yards and four touchdowns. In his sophomore season, Wright caught 94 passes for 1,079 yards and two touchdowns. I think that with a more solid QB and RB situation in 2014 that Wright should be seeing more production. Even with the QB battle last season, Wright was still able to catch for over 1,000 yards. I think that 2014 features Wright going for over 1,000 again and perhaps even leading the AFC South in receiving over Andre Johnson. To help him out will be WR Nate Washington (58 catches for 919 yards and three touchdowns in 2013), young Justin Hunter (18 receptions for 354 yards and four touchdowns), and TE Delanie Walker (60 catches for 571 yards and six touchdowns). I think Wright has breakout potential and of course Washington is going to add key yards on the other side. Where I’m having doubts though is with QB

After Ryan Fitzpatrick went out and signed with the Houston Texans in the off-season, Tennessee was left with the only option they had; former first round draft pick Jake Locker. This season I see the Titans having some slight challenges. They lost Kenny Britt and failed to draft any wide receivers. As well, they let go of franchise RB Chris Johnson. Regardless though, this team does happen to have a lot of bright spots ranging from veteran Nate Washington to young bloods such as rookie sensations Kendall Wright out of Baylor and home-grown Justin Hunter from the University of Tennessee. As for the QBs, at this moment the battle is between Jake Locker and rookie Zach Mettenberger out of LSU. As last season’s starter for six games, Locker was able to play well, winning four out of the six games he did in fact start. Unfortunately for Locker, his career to this point has been riddled with injuries and benchings. 2014 will feature a healthy Locker and a Tennessee squad which no longer has QB Ryan Fitzpatrick in it. I think the starting job and the 2014 is basically Locker’s to win or lose. He’s  waited three years for this moment and must take advantage of every opportunity. However, in his way will be the rookie Mettenberger.

Out of LSU, Mettenberger averaged 2,845.5 yards and 17 touchdowns and completed 61.85% of his passes in his last two seasons as a Tiger. Many draft analysts praised Mettenberger for his size and arm strength, however they were less likely to give him praise on his release time and history of injuries and off-the-field issues. 

I think that 2014 will have Locker as the starter all the way through. I honestly don’t see Mettenberger as the starting QB of the Tennessee Titans in any capacity. If anyone is going to get playing time after Locker it will probably be Charlie Whitehurst. Mettenberger’s throwing motion needs to be worked on a little bit in order to be truly NFL-ready. I think this season watches him from the bench, taking notes and learning the system. Locker was the Titan’s first round selection and I believe that the Titans will honor that selection and play Locker throughout the season. In his career Locker has yet to play all 16 games. Look for 2014 to be that season. If Locker does get injured, the Titans will have to make a judgement call to see if Mettenberger is ready for the big time.