Tennessee Titans: Don’t Sleep on Rishard Matthews
By John Laird
We take a look at how newly acquired pass catcher Rishard Matthews is ready to make an immediate impact for his new team in 2016.
Surprising many people with his decision (including myself), Rishard Matthews chose to sign with the Tennessee Titans over the New England Patriots when the wide receiver hit free agency this past March. But the fit couldn’t be better for both sides, which puts Matthews in position to have a great 2016 campaign in the Music City.
In Tennessee, the receiving core is an interesting one. It has Kendall Wright whose been able to put up one 1,000-yard season since entering the league in 2012, Harry Douglas who has been nothing more then a complimentary weapon his whole career, and Dorial Green-Beckham who has all the talent in the world, but there are questions if he will be able to put it all together.
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There is also rookie Tajae Sharpe who has been looking good thus far for the team, but the jury will still be out until the season is fully underway. This crop seems anything but reliable.
Enter Rishard Matthews, who has just came off of a break out season for the Miami Dolphins catching passes from the inconsistent Ryan Tannehill. Missing five games due to injury, the fifth year pass catcher was able to haul in 43 catches for 662 yards and four scores. Those numbers may not jump off the page, but there’s more to be looked into for this new pairing.
If you watched Matthews in 2015, one thing really stood out, route running. The 6’0″ receiver would run precise routes and always be in the spot that he is suppose to be in when he is suppose to be there. Sound familiar? That’s because Titans offensive coaches have been relentlessly bringing that up as a trait they need all of their wide receivers to possess this upcoming season.
Too many times in 2015 the wide receiver wouldn’t be in the right position when he was suppose to be (Green-Beckham being the main culprit) which resulted in interceptions like the one Kurt Coleman had when the team lost to the Carolina Panthers at home.
Marcus Mariota relies on route running as much as any quarterback in the league today. He throws most of his routes based off of anticipation, making a Mariota/Matthews duo a potentially deadly one just with that alone. Mariota is deadly accurate with quick to intermediate routes, which is also Matthews’ bread and butter, considering he can take a quick pass and turn it into a big play.
I understand this offense is going to be a run first, ‘exotic smash-mouth’ based offense which really could excel with Mariota handing the ball off to DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry, but in today’s NFL defenses are adapting on the fly, and the team will be forced to rely on the arm of the former Heisman Trophy Winner and his receivers.
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With a reliable route runner with solid hands coming into the fold with Pro Bowl tight end Delanie Walker already needing extra attention from defenses, the sky is the ceiling for the Mariota/Matthews duo, which was actually close to happening a few years ago in Oregon (via Jason Wolf of the Tennessean).
The world has a funny way of working, doesn’t it?