The Titans stepped into the bargain basement part of free agency again today, signing veteran receiver Hakeem Nicks.
Nicks went one pick before Kenny Britt in the 2009 NFL draft, and the Titans were reportedly fairly interested in him. He started his career with the Giants and when healthy was a highly productive downfield receiver. When healthy was a key caveat, as a series of lower leg injuries have turned him into a much less explosive player than he once was. With the Colts in 2014, he was primarily a part time player, playing almost exactly half the offense snaps. He had 38 catches for 405 yards, a 10.7 yards per catch average 2.4 worse than his previous career-worst mark, and four touchdowns. He came out right at 0 DYAR, perfectly replacement level, and ranked 70th in both DYAR and DVOA (I write for FO perma-disclaimer). Obviously DYAR is not a perfect mechanism and deeply sensitive to context and the like, but I believe it accurately reflects who Nicks is at this point, a bigger body (6’1/208) player who is not physically explosive. He would probably be an upgrade on Derek Hagan for the fourth receiver job, except that Hagan was a consistent special teams player and Nicks is not.
Given the parlous state of the wide receiver depth chart, adding a veteran like Nicks was a move I considered likely to happen at some point. I just wasn’t sure if it would be before the draft or after it like last year’s Hagan and Brian Robiskie signings. I still expect the Titans to draft a receiver next week, and possibly with a very high pick. Adding Nicks just reduces the possibility they’ll draft more than one and makes it less of a requirement that player be ready to assume a prominent role on offense in 2015.
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