At the start of the 2019 season, the Tennessee Titans didn’t provide any fantasy football options outside of running back Derrick Henry, who even got off to a somewhat slow start himself.
But as the season progressed, the Titans began giving fantasy owners viable options to input into their starting lineup that they could find on the scrap heap.
The 2020 season should be different though, as four Titans players stand to make a big impact in fantasy football for the entirety of the 16-game schedule.
Without further ado, here are the four Titans who are primed for big fantasy production this coming season.
Ryan Tannehill
The 2019 campaign saw a resurgence in Ryan Tannehill’s career, as he led the NFL in passer rating and was second in completion percentage, numbers that helped earn him NFL Comeback Player of the Year.
Of course, those numbers don’t exactly help us out in fantasy football, but they do show his efficiency, which helps him produce impressive fantasy results even in a run-heavy attack.
Tannehill took the starting job in Week 7 last season, and from that point on he finished as QB3 in total points and QB4 in average points per week, per Fantasy Pros.
On top of his ability to sling it, Tannehill can also make plays with his legs, giving him a safe floor from week to week and the ability to produce elite fantasy quarterback numbers in any given game.
In 2020, Tannehill will get the chance to play a full 16-game slate, and if his 2019 numbers are any indication, the Titans quarterback could conceivably finish as a top-five fantasy signal-caller this coming season.
Derrick Henry
Even with a lack of involvement in the passing game and missing one contest due to injury in 2019, Derrick Henry still finished as RB5 in PPR (points-per-reception) leagues.
This was a result of his overwhelming rushing totals on a weekly basis. Henry averaged a league-best 102.7 yards per game en route to winning the rushing title with 1,540 yards. His 16 touchdowns were also tied for the best mark in the NFL.
Can we expect some regression in his rushing yards in 2020? Perhaps, but many experts thought his end-of-season pace in 2019 wasn’t sustainable before he went on to dominate the league last season.
The fact of the matter is Henry is still the workhorse back on a run-heavy offense that utilizes him in goal line situations and sports an elite run-blocking offensive line.
Adding to that, Henry remaining healthy for all 16 games can make up for a potential dip in his rushing yards per game average, and he faces the 11th-easiest strength of schedule for running backs in fantasy, per Fantasy Pros.
All of these factors should lead to Henry producing RB1 numbers once again in 2020, regardless of format.
A.J. Brown
The Titans were a wasteland for fantasy wide receiver production for much of the first half of the 2019 campaign, but A.J. Brown changed that after Tannehill was inserted as the team’s starter in Week 7.
An eye-opening 778 of Brown’s 1,051 receiving yards and six of his eight receiving touchdowns came after Tannehill took the reins. Clearly there is some strong chemistry here.
From that point on, Brown finished as WR7 in total points and WR11 in points per game in PPR. Thanks to four 100-yard games and six total touchdowns in his last six contests, the Ole Miss product was WR2 from Week 12 on, according to Fantasy Pros.
Even though he ended up commanding an impressive target share of almost 19 percent, Brown proved he didn’t need a lot of looks to produce.
He was a big play waiting to happen, as he finished second in the NFL with 20.2 yards per reception and recorded 15 catches of 20 yards or more. His 465 yards after the catch ranked fifth among all wide receivers.
Brown’s 84 targets were the fewest amount for a 1,000-yard receiver since Pro Football Focus started charting that data in 2006.
Bottom line: Brown was historically efficient for the position.
The sky’s the limit for Brown in 2020, as he’ll have a full season with Tannehill under center and could produce elite wide receiver numbers as a result.
Jonnu Smith
With Delanie Walker out of the way, Jonnu Smith is preparing for a 2020 season in which he will be the clear-cut No. 1 tight end for the Titans.
That really wasn’t the case for all of 2019, as Walker soaked up a good number of snaps before leaving the Week 7 game against the Los Angeles Chargers early. He would be placed on Injured Reserve soon after that.
Smith immediately saw his snaps go up from Week 7 on, as he went from averaging 35.2 snaps per game in the first six contests to averaging 49 snaps in the final 10 games.
The end result was promising, as Smith finished with career-highs in catches (35), yards (439) and touchdowns (three).
This isn’t just about snaps, though. Smith possess insane athleticism for the position and has the kind of speed that makes him a big play waiting to happen.
An astounding eight of Smith’s 35 receptions went for 20 yards or more, and one of his four carries went for 57 yards. In all, Smith averaged 12.5 yards per reception, which ranked him seventh among tight ends with at least 30 receptions, per Fantasy Footballers.
With that kind of efficiency and an increase in snaps and targets, Smith has the ability to finish as, at worst, a top-10 tight end in fantasy for the coming season.
