Tennessee Titans Fantasy Football Preview
Once Ryan Tannehill took over the offense it lit a fire in the locker room and the Titans rode that wave to the AFC Championship where they lost to Kansas City. The offense got crazy production from rookie WR AJ Brown and found their recipe for success on the back of Derrick Henry as he ran all over opponents in 2019. Defensively, the Titans did what they had to do to win games. They had their up and down moments but that is expected with everyone. The defense should be about the same in 2020.
Schedule
- Week 1: @ Broncos
- Week 2: Jaguars
- Week 3: @ Vikings
- Week 4: Steelers
- Week 5: Bills
- Week 6: Texans
- Week 7: Bye
- Week 8: @ Bengals
- Week 9: Bears
- Week 10: Colts
- Week 11: @ Ravens
- Week 12: @ Colts
- Week 13: Browns
- Week 14: @ Jaguars
- Week 15: Lions
- Week 16: @ Packers
- Week 17: @ Texans
Players To Know
- Ryan Tannehill-QB: This year will be the answer to the question everybody has: Was Ryan Tannehill for real last year? When he took over the offense from Marcus Mariota the Titans put up a ton of points and rode the wave to a nice overall showing with Tannehill under center. Maybe it was Adam Gase that haunted Tannehill in Miami and all he needed was a change of scenery. Either way, I think Tennessee should still be good this season. 3800 passing yards, 25 TDs and 250 rushing yards with 3 TDs.
- Derrick Henry-RB: Derrick Henry was the 2019 league leader in rushing yards and was a fantasy football superstar. While he most likely will not repeat the 16 rushing TDs he stills belongs as someone you want to have on your end of Round 1 radar. Yes, he will regress a bit but Mike Vrabel is committed to the run game being the identity of the squad. I don’t feel confident saying it but here it goes, Henry will finish the season somewhere in the neighborhood of RB5 overall for the fantasy season. Assuming things stay comparable to last season, 1450 rushing yards and 13 TDs.
- Darrynton Evans-RB: Darrynton Evans was a menace for Sun Belt defenses during his time at Appalachian State and walks into a great situation. Dion Lewis is gone and Evans figures to slide into the #2 RB slot. Given the workload Derrick Henry has been given over the last few seasons it isn’t crazy to think he is a candidate to get hurt or have his work scaled back to get life out of his new deal and not end up like the Rams and Todd Gurley. If you select Henry make sure you double up with Evans. Evans also figures to be a factor in passing scenarios. If Henry misses time Evans is a league winner.
- AJ Brown-WR: 52 catches for more than 1000 yards as a rookie that will be tough to follow up but there is no real threat to steal targets from him. He and Jonnu Smith figure to pace the passing offense this season but Brown should be the clear-cut target leader. Last season Brown totaled 84 targets and that number should be greater this season as I feel 100+ targets are not unrealistic this season. Brown, regardless, should flirt with back-end WR1 stats this season but is currently being drafted as a WR2. 75 catches for 1150 and 10 TDs.
- Corey Davis-WR: So Corey Davis is talented the problem is he hasn’t been able to show it on the field. Maybe he will take a step forward this season in year two with Tannehill but it is difficult to trust that inclination based on Davis and his production thus far in his career. If you’re looking for a guy with some potential to fill one of the last spots on your roster then Davis is a guy to keep an eye on. 55 catches for 725 yards and 3 TDs.
- Adam Humphries-WR: He was a big offseason signing a year ago but injuries prevented his season from turning into anything special. With AJ Brown exploding on the scene and the expected emergence of Jonnu Smith it is tough to see Humphries being fantasy relevant. He has more meaning in real life for Tennessee. 50 catches for 525 yards and 1 TD.
- Jonnu Smith-TE: Due to the Titans history of throwing to Delanie Walker many are betting on that continuing with Jonnu Smith. Smith put on a show at the 2017 Combine and for that reason, he is a pick to be this year’s version of Darren Waller. Smith could easily be the #2 option in the passing game behind Brown given what we know about Davis and Humphries. And if he is the #2 option, which I 100% expect, he is plenty athletic enough to make those touches count. I expect Smith to have a nice season in his first full opportunity to take all the TE snaps. 70 catches for 800 yards and 6 TDs.
Defense
The defense has posted a few recent Top 12 finishes and I expect them to flirt with a Top 12 finish once again. The Titans can be up and down and may have a few poor showings but they have a potentially nice streaming schedule to start the season. They did not really address the secondary where they were suspect at times last season. However, they offset that problem by finishing in the Top 12 for turnovers. Like I said they have been a good fantasy before and will have a couple of bad weeks but overall there are far worse options.
Potential Breakout Player
- AJ Brown-WR
- Jonnu Smith-TE
Rookie To Know
- Darrynton Evans-RB
