Titans pass on wide receivers in second and third rounds

Heading into day two of the NFL Draft on Friday, the Titans were expected to make picks to bolster last year’s stagnant offense.

They did add offensive players with each of two selections.

But it was the position groups the Titans chose to address — and the ones they chose not to — that left many fans howling in frustration on social media.

The Titans drafted a potential quarterback of the future in Kentucky’s Will Levis in the second round and selected Tulane running back Tyjae Spears in the third round.

The team did not, however, draft a wide receiver or tight end for a passing offense that ranked 30th in yardage (171.4 yards per game) and 28th in touchdowns (16) last season. Tennessee’s leading returning pass-catchers are wide receiver Treylon Burks (33 catches, 444 yards), tight end Chig Okonkwo (32 catches, 450 yards) and wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine (25 catches, 397 yards).

Burks, Westbrook-Ikhine, Kyle Philips, Racey McMath and recently signed Chris Moore currently make up the team’s receiver nucleus.

Titans general manager Ran Carthon and coach Mike Vrabel said the decision to not take a wide receiver in the second or third round simply came down to the value of players available on the team’s draft board.

“It's taking a look at our board and seeing where things are,” Vrabel said. “We know we have needs. We come into each phase of player acquisition with needs. It's certainly something we're going to continue to target.

“Again, what the roster looks like today and what it's going to look like at the first part of September is probably a little different.”

The Titans don’t have a fourth-round pick on Saturday, so barring a trade, the next time they’ll have a chance to select a wide receiver — or tight end — is pick 13 of the fifth round, No. 147 overall.

In the Titans era, the only impactful receiver to be chosen in the fifth round or lower to make even a mildly significant impact for Tennessee was Tajae Sharpe, a 2016 fifth-round pick. He played 47 games for the Titans, making 92 catches for 1,167 yards and eight touchdowns. Marc Mariani (seventh-round pick in 2010) made the Pro Bowl as a rookie, but it was as a return specialist.

“Rolling the dice, playing the board,” Carthon said about the lack of wide receivers taken. “That's what we're doing. We're going to take the best available player in the fifth round. We hope that it's a receiver because we're going to continue to address our needs. If we take a receiver in the fifth round, it's a player that we feel can contribute to our team.

“Like [Vrabel] said, [there are] players that have come into this league that have performed at high levels in all rounds of the draft. We don't look at it as a fifth-round guy that's not going to be able to come in here and contribute. Everybody that we bring here will have the opportunity to earn it on the grass.”

Spears, meanwhile, comes to the Titans after a highly productive fourth season at Tulane.

The 5-10, 201-pound running back carried 229 times for 1,581 yards (6.9-yard average) and 19 touchdowns in 2022, adding 22 receptions for 256 yards and two touchdowns.

Spears could fill Dontrell Hilliard’s role as a third-down back this season, though Carthon sees more potential.

“He's a three-down runner; he can run between the tackles,” Carthon said. “He's elusive; he can make guys miss, as well as contribute in the passing game. He catches the ball well out of the backfield, is a good route runner. Just another guy that can do it all for us, and you can put him in the game in any situation and there will be some production there.”

Spears missed nine games in 2020 with a torn ACL but played a combined 26 games and carried 358 times over the last two years.

“He played a lot of really productive snaps — didn't miss much time at all,” Vrabel said. “Was a full participant throughout the week at the Senior Bowl.

“I think both of us are comfortable with where we're at with Tyjae and what his availability will be going forward. Now, that may change, [we] but feel good about where it is right now.”