Dynasty Capsule: Tennessee Titans

Doug Green

titanscapsule

As part of the premium content package, we’re again unveiling dynasty capsules for every team in the NFL leading up to free agency and the NFL Draft. This year, we’re again going to do a follow-up on all the teams after all the free agency and NFL Draft movement to assess the impact of any players teams have gained or lost. Since these capsules are always done as a simple snapshot in time, we figured that was the best way to tackle the off-season and provide ultimate value for our subscribers. All in all, we’ll have close to 500 player profiles found in these capsules over the off-season.

We start wrapping up the series with the Tennessee Titans.

Quarterbacks

Zach Mettenberger

The Titans fantasy fortunes in 2015 very well may be tied to the team’s belief in their second-year quarterback. After being drafted in the sixth round out of LSU, Mettenberger took over the starting job in week eight and had, well, let’s call them uneven results. In his six starts before his season-ending shoulder injury, Mettenberger tossed five interceptions in three of them. He has prototypical size and possess a strong arm and wide receiver corps with plenty of potential.

At least publicly, the Titans brass say that Mettenberger is their guy moving forward. Tennessee has the second pick in the upcoming NFL Draft and if they are committed to Mettenberger, could take defensive lineman Leonard Williams from USC, considered by many to be the safest player in the draft. They could also choose to give Mettenberger some weapons with Alabama’s Amari Cooper and West Virginia’s Kevin White being at the top of most draft boards at wide receiver.

If the Titans are playing coy, they will get whoever is left between Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston and Oregon signal-caller Marcus Mariota. Choosing a quarterback that high in the draft will almost certainly send Mettenberger back to the bench.

Charlie Whitehurst

He started five games last season, including the final three after Mettenberger went down. His play during that time was unspectacular and he carries little fantasy value outside of a serious injury to the starting quarterback.

Running Backs

Bishop Sankey

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Sankey was the first running back drafted in the 2014 NFL Draft (the 54th overall selection) out of Washington. That lofty status didn’t translate into on-field results, however, as he struggled to find any momentum. Despite playing in all 16 games (starting nine), Sankey failed to reach 100 yards in any of them and had only two touchdowns all season. His best output was 61 yards, which he hit twice – once in a blowout loss to Cincinnati in week three and the other in a 16-14 win over Jacksonville in week six. Part of that could be contributed to the fact Tennessee played from behind in most of their games, but his longest run was only 22 yards, hinting a lack of explosion. His splits indicate that most of his yardage come early in games, with 502 of his yards coming on carries 1-10 while runs 11-20 netted only 67 yards.

He does have some PPR value, notching 18 catches for 133 yards in his rookie season. Chances are you won’t be able to get the value you paid for him, so he’s at best a hold candidate. You can hope he figures it out in year two. It’s doubtful the Titans take another running back with with a high pick and with little behind him, the role of primary ball carrier appears to be his for another season at least.

Shonn Greene

He has a cap number of $3.25 million, so he could be a cap casualty during camp if the Titans find some gems in the rough. Greene played in 13 games last season but only rang up 392 yards and two touchdowns. His best game of the season came in Week 17 against the Colts, with 11 carries for 94 yards. At 29, his value is at a minimum. Your best bet for points out him may be vulturing touchdowns from Sankey at the goal line.

Wide Receivers

Nate Washington

With a revolving door at quarterback, Washington regressed from his 2013 production of almost 1,000 yards back to 650. As the WR1 he still sees the bulk of the targets from whoever is under center but with such inconsistent play, his number put him in the WR3 category. He needs Mettenberger to take a giant step forward or for his team to bring in a better level of quarterback. His 2014 numbers are similar to his numbers from 2008 and 2010. He is currently 31, so what you see is going to be what you get from Washington.

Kendall Wright

His game is full of potential, but this past season saw his numbers dip to below those he had as a rookie. Most of that can be attributed to the aforementioned inconsistency at quarterback. Wright does have value in PPR leagues as he consistently hauls in between four and seven passes each game. The frustration for many owners lies in the up and down nature of his yardage. He still has youth on his side at 25 and if he could wrestle some more targets away from Washington, he could see a dramatic bump in his production.

Justin Hunter

Everybody’s favorite enigma.

Hunter has all the physical potential in the world at 6-foot-4 and 203 pounds, but has struggled to piece it all together on an NFL-level yet. He has an exciting yards-per-catch of 18.5, but has only 46 career catches to go with it. While Washington and Wright’s struggles are influenced by problems that are outside their control, Hunter’s come from a lack of understanding routes.

Hunter’s value is so all over the board, not even our own DLF rankers can decide to what to do with him. He has a composite score of 41 amongst wideouts, ranging from a high of 32 to a low of 58, as of this writing. If you can get him cheaply, he is still a buy-low candidate, though most on the selling side most likely view him as a “hold” asset hoping this is the season he unlocks his potential.

Tight End

Delanie Walker

Finally, a player whose numbers actually improved in 2014. In his second year with the Titans, Walker went from 60 to 63 catches and bumped up his yardage from 571 to 890. The only statistic that regressed was touchdowns, which went from six to four – those numbers were good enough to be a top ten tight end. The catches and yardage were both career highs for Walker.

Walker’s value as an underneath threat will remain strong in 2015 whether the quarterback is Mettenberger or his replacement. He may regress more towards his 2013 numbers, but still should stay in the TE10-12 range.

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