Tennessee Titans tight end Jonnu Smith knows a great deal about the team’s new offensive coordinator, Todd Downing, as he learned under the former tight ends coach for two seasons in Nashville.
And in that time, Smith has become a big believer in Downing. The former third-round pick was a guest on SiriusXM Radio on Tuesday and called Downing “one of the best offensive minds I’ve been around.”
Per Titans beat writer Paul Kuharsky:
“One of the best offensive minds I’ve been around… He just knows ball so well. We’re putting the piece in places that we need, I think we’ve got a lot of room for success,” Smith said.
The expectation is for Downing to keep the offense the same, perhaps with a few new wrinkles, which is good news for a Titans unit that was among the best in the NFL in 2020.
When asked about his impending free agency in the same interview, Smith had this to say, per Terry McCormick of Titan Insider:
“First, we’ll have to see if this is the organization I’ll be playing for,” Smith said. “We’ll see how that goes.”
Spotrac has estimated Smith’s market value at a five-year, $40.3 million deal, which comes out to $8 million annually. As we’ve stated before, the Titans, a team that will have limited funds this offseason, shouldn’t pay Smith unless they plan on utilizing him more in the offense.
You would think Smith’s former position coach would be the guy to get it done, but then again the last offensive coordinator was also his position coach for two years (Arthur Smith) and didn’t use Smith enough.
