Tennessee Titans: Corey Davis missing from NFL.com’s All-Rookie picks
By Dale Lolley
Tennessee Titans receiver and No. 5 overall pick Corey Davis can’t get any respect in NFL.com’s early All-Rookie picks
When the Tennessee Titans selected receiver Corey Davis with the fifth pick in the draft a couple of weeks ago, it raised some eyebrows. And it would appear that NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks isn’t quite sold on Davis being an impact player for the Titans. At least Brooks doesn’t feel Davis will have the impact of Mike Williams with the Chargers or Zay Jones with the Bills.
Those two were Brooks’ picks in a post he did for NFL.com, predicting who will be the NFL’s top rookies. In many ways, Williams’ selection makes sense. After all, the Chargers took him two picks after the Titans took Davis. And many draft analysts had Williams as their top receiver in this draft.
Throw in the fact that Williams will be playing in a pass-happy offense with Philip Rivers throwing him the ball, and his selection isn’t a surprise. The selection of Jones, however, ahead of Davis is something of a surprise.
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Jones was the fifth pick in the second round, a full round later than Davis. And though he’s talented, the situation into which he is heading, isn’t as good as that of Davis. Both figure to be starters for teams that are more reliant on running the ball that most teams. Buffalo led the NFL in rushing in 2016, while Tennessee was third.
Both also have quarterbacks that are perhaps better than many pundits outside their respective cities give them credit. Buffalo’s Tyrod Taylor had a passer rating of 89.6 last season, while Tennessee’s Marcus Mariota was even better at 95.6.
Brooks doesn’t explain his selection of Jones over Davis — though he does expect Jones to be a 1,000-yard receiver. We also can assume that perhaps it is because Davis will play in an offense that has a few more weapons in the passing game. At least that’s the case when compared with what Jones will have in Buffalo. He’ll be competing with oft-injured Sammy Watkins for passes.
Davis, meanwhile, has proven veterans such as Rishard Matthews and Delanie Walker to deal with. But the Titans didn’t make Davis the fifth player in the draft and first receiver taken not to use him.
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As for the rest of the All-Rookie team, the Titans didn’t get shut out. Adoree’ Jackson made the cut, but not as a cornerback. Jackson made the team as a return man.