While more players could emerge from the Tennessee Titans as fantasy football-relevant options for the 2020 season, there are four players who stand out the most.
So, let’s see who those players are and why they are the best options you can get from the Titans for the upcoming season.
Note: 2019 fantasy rankings and positional ADP (average draft position) are courtesy of Fantasy Pros and are based on PPR (points-per-reception) scoring.
TE Jonnu Smith
Tight end is one of the hardest positions in fantasy to get consistent production out of beyond the top players at the position. However, Smith could provide significant value for owners who take him later in drafts.
With Delanie Walker out of the way, Smith should see an increase in snaps throughout the course of an entire season, the likes of which he saw in the second half of last season after the veteran was placed on IR.
Thanks to his ridiculous athleticism, Smith is a big play waiting to happen and can turn limited touches into impressive production.
He averaged 12.5 yards per reception last season, which was seventh among tight ends, and his 284 yards after the catch ranked 10th at the position.
Perhaps most impressively, Smith forced 14 missed tackles, per Pro Football Focus, the third-most of any tight end in the NFL and behind only George Kittle (20) and Travis Kelce (15). Bear in mind, Smith did that with nearly one-third of the catches that Kittle and Kelce had.
The Titans will use him in a variety of ways, also, including on running plays. Smith carried the ball four times in 2019, and one of those runs went for 57 yards.
Adding to the optimism of what Smith can do with a full complement of snaps this season, he and quarterback Ryan Tannehill have been working out together multiple times per week this offseason, which should lead to better chemistry and more looks for the young tight end.
WR A.J. Brown
Brown put together the best season for a Titans rookie wide receiver in franchise history in 2019 and is on the verge of becoming a superstar in the NFL.
From Week 7 on when Tannehill took over as the Titans’ starter, the standout rookie finished as WR7, and he was WR2 in the final six games of the season where he totaled 100 yards or more four times.
If you average out Brown’s production (16.4 fantasy points per game) in the games he played with Tannehill over the course of 16 contests, the Ole Miss product would have finished as WR6.
Even if Brown’s efficiency regresses (20.2 yards per reception in 2019), an increase in target share from the 18.7 percent he saw last season and a full campaign with Tannehill under center should more than make up for it.
QB Ryan Tannehill
Tannehill became a force in fantasy football last season with both his arm and legs after taking over as the starter for Marcus Mariota in Week 7.
The former No. 8 overall pick ranked as QB3 in that span, and averaged 22.5 fantasy points per contest, the third-most among signal-callers with at least nine games played.
If you take Tannehill’s average from his 10 starts and spread it out over the course of 16 games, the Titans quarterback would have finished as QB2 in fantasy in 2019.
While Tannehill’s 22 passing touchdowns and incredible efficiency led to his sensational season, his ability to make plays with his legs also contributed to his fantasy success. Tannehill added 185 rushing yards and four scores to his already impressive passing totals.
Regression is certainly possible for Tannehill in 2020, but even taking a step backwards could lead to him being a top-10 quarterback. On top of that, defenses are going to be locked-in on trying to stop Derrick Henry, and that means more room to throw for the Titans signal-caller.
1. RB Derrick Henry
The King rightfully takes his place on the throne as the Titans’ best fantasy option for the 2020 season. Henry was a machine for fantasy owners in 2019, as he led the league in rushing yards (1,540) and was tied for the most rushing touchdowns (16).
Henry was particularly dominant from Week 10 on when he totaled five 100-yard games in six contests and 10 rushing touchdowns, and four of those games saw him total 149 yards or more.
In that stretch of games, Henry was RB2 in total points and totaled just one less point than the Carolina Panthers’ Christian McCaffrey, who played two more games in that span.
There’s no reason to think Henry can’t be as dominant in 2020. The Titans will return four-fifths of their 2019 offensive line, which really gelled in the second half of last season, and he stands to once again be a workhorse back getting plenty of goal line opportunities in a run-heavy offense.
If only the Titans can get him more work in the passing game, Henry could finish as RB1 in fantasy — but with his ability to produce video-game numbers already, he can still accomplish that without more targets.
At the very least, Henry is going to be a top-five running back and should be one of the handful of backs to be taken off the board in drafts for all fantasy formats.
