After quarterback, running back, fullback, and wide receiver, our next stop on our trip around the Tennessee Titans position by position as we head into the 2015 offseason is tight end.
The Titans returned their top three tight ends, but ended up having injury issues at the position and had seven different players at the position play at least a rotational role in multiple games (15-plus snaps). Those top three tight ends are under contract, but the injury-related shuffling meant they’ll have options available.
Delanie Walker was the obvious standout of the position and my team offensive MVP. He led the team with 106 targets, 63 catches, and 890 receiving yards, with a very healthy (for a tight end) 14.1 yards per catch, belying my fears relating to old tight ends in the preseason positional analysis. I covered his play in some detail in that post, including that he was below average by DVOA (I write for FO perma-disclaimer, and yes, quarterback had a fair bit to do with that). He’s a solid all-around player and even though he’s 31 in August should be back for another year of doing what he did last year. I’d expect probably more like 12.0 yards per catch than 14.1, though.
Beyond Walker, question marks abound. The first concerns a player who will be on the roster, Taylor Thompson. A strong blocker, he seemed to have a role as the Titans played a fair amount of two tight end personnel early in the season. After 51 snaps the first three weeks, though, he got hurt and was inactive for the next five games before he got sent to injured reserve. A complete non-factor as a receiver once again, his expected role for 2015 is a big question. He’ll be at least a useful blocker whether in-line or on the wing or even in the backfield and a useful special teams player; the question the Titans have to answer is if he could do more than that, as the primary blocking tight end and somebody who could be targeted a couple times a game. We don’t have a good answer to that question yet. What the Titans do at tight end, if anything, this offseason could tell us how they feel about Thompson’s potential to take on a bigger role.
Craig Stevens reworked his contract last offseason, and with a $3.5 million salary still on the books for him this coming season he’ll have to do the same thing again to see the Titans roster come his 31st birthday on September 1. He played 69 snaps, getting injured two plays into the Browns games, and went to injured reserve. A solid blocker, he was again a non-factor in the passing game. There’s a role for a blocking tight end in Whisenhunt’s offense; will there be a role for a second one, or will Thompson play enough of a split role that Stevens could stick around at a reduced salary? It wouldn’t have surprised me to see Stevens cut by this point of the offseason, given his age and history of multiple concussions, though as far as I know there’s no real time pressure to make a decision on him.
Brett Brackett was the third Titans tight end to go to injured reserve. The Titans activated him off the practice squad when Stevens got hurt, cut him after two games, then brought him back. He did little of note in his 86 snaps, and I have no strong impressions of his play. At 27, he’s older than you’d like for a player with his (lack of) experience. I don’t see him as anything other than a candidate for the third tight end job, and I’d prefer a player who is more of a specialist blocker or receiver for that role than a generalist who doesn’t stand out in either area.
Chase Coffman finished second among Titans tight ends in 2014 with 160 snaps on offense. He accumulated that total over 13 games, joining the roster after Thompson was injured. He caught 6 passes on 14 targets for 64 receiving yards and a -40.1% DVOA. I consider him pretty much the definition of replacement-level receiving tight end. Matthew Mulligan, who played 33 snaps over the last two games after Brackett went to IR, is the same level player, only a blocker instead of a receiver. Neither Coffman nor Mulligan is under contract for 2015, nor do I expect the Titans to try to retain either player.
The other tight end on the right is Dorin Dickerson, who was actually around for the positional analysis but became the very first Titans tight end to go on injured reserve, before even the first preseason game, and got an injury settlement a week later. Somewhere between an oversize receiver and a move tight end, the Titans are listing him at tight end. My normal expectation for players on futures contracts is that they won’t make the team, but bringing him back suggests the Titans have a certain level of affection for Dickerson. Turning 27 in March, my expectation for his level of performance if we get to see him in a game of any sort is somewhere around Chase Coffman.
Conclusion-Type Things
One solid name, and Delanie Walker should continue to play a strong role in the offense in 2015. Beyond him the position group is murky, in terms of just how much potential there is and what exactly the Titans think about individual players. It’s not a particularly strong position, to my way of thinking, but the Titans may consider it one of the strongest on the offensive side of the ball right now, if that makes any sense. The general lack of youth at the position and the need for youth suggests to me a mid-round pick should be a strong consideration, but the Titans have so many needs right now it wouldn’t surprise me if the players who make the roster at tight end are all mentioned in this post.
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