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Tennessee Titans training camp starts at the end of the week! Leading up to camp, Xanpham Churchill and I are going to be breaking down all of the positions on the roster. We continue with the wide receivers.
All players have 2013 stats listed, if applicable.
The Players
Kendall Wright- 94 catches, 1,079 yards, 2 TDs
Wright is going to be a star in this offense. He is deadly with the ball in his hands, and maybe this coaching staff can figure out that he can run down the field and still catch passes. Look for his touchdown number to skyrocket this season.
Nate Washington- 58 catches, 919 yards, 3 TDs
There has never been a player that my opinion has changed on more than Washington. He looked like another in a long line of receiver busts, but he has turned out to be the most consistent player on the offensive side of the ball. He should be in line for another solid year.
Justin Hunter- 18 catches, 354 yards, 4 TDs
Hunter is the guy that has everybody buzzing this offseason, and it is easy to see why. The kid has amazing athletic ability. Now he just needs to refine it to become a consistent wide receiver. Hopefully he makes that big jump form year 1 to year 2.
Michael Preston- 5 catches, 37 yards, 2 TDs
I like Mike P and hope that he makes the team. He has a lot of upside, but at some point upside has to turn into production. He needs to shine in camp.
Marc Mariani
Mariani is always a lightning rod in the comment section. I don't think he has what it takes to make the team as a receiver. He is a talented returner, so his battle will be with Leon Washington for a roster spot.
The rest of the group- Derek Hagan, Julian Horton, Jaz Reynolds, Rico Richardson, Brian Robiskie, Derel Walker, and Isaiah Williams
There isn't a name there that really jumps off the page. Can one of them impress enough in camp to stick around? If you think so, who is it and why?
What's Changed
The players that will be relevant have not changed here at all. The hope is that they will all be more productive in this new offense.
The Big Question
Will Justin Hunter live up to his potential? He has the ability to be a huge difference maker for this offense. The ability to take the ball deep, take the top off the defense. That is vitally important in today's NFL, and especially key for what Ken Whisenhunt wants to do on offense.
Best Case Scenario
Hunter lives up to that potential. He has a double-digit TD season. Wright has a 100 catches, 1,300 yards and 8 TDs. Washington's numbers are similar to last year's.
Worst Case Scenario
Hunter proves to be inconsistent and nothing really changes from last year. I think the floor for this group is actually pretty high, so barring injury, I don't see a scenario where this group is bad.
Summary
The top three is good. They have a chance to be great. Most of that depends on what kind of progress Hunter makes (in case you didn't pick that up the first 100 times I said it in this post). I haven't been this excited about a group of receivers since the team came to Nashville. That probably means they are destined to fail.
