Any wide receiver that comes to the Tennessee Titans has to be able to block, especially when it comes to those players who are further down the depth chart.
Tennessee’s offense asks for a lot from its wideouts in that department, and it’s something new wide receiver Chris Conley knows full well upon his arrival in Nashville.
“I mean that’s part of the identity of this team,” Conley said, per John Glennon of Sports Illustrated. “You hear it right out of the gate. You know that’s the standard, and that is what they need [from receivers] — body on a body, get movement, make sure that we can run the ball and everything comes off of that.”
“I know their mentality is that of physicality, of dominating your opponent,” Conley added. “It’s being fundamentally sound. It’s not shying away from anything. I knew what I was coming into, and I know there’s a very high standard on finishing here. That’s a challenge. That’s a challenge you want to be able to attack and to tackle.”
Conley, who was signed to Tennessee’s active roster on Tuesday, has no shortage of confidence in his ability to block.
“I think I’m one of the best run-blocking wide receivers in the league,” Conley said. “I’ve thought that since I’ve got in the league all that time ago, and I don’t think any of that has changed. That’s definitely been a strong part for me, but I believe there’s always room for improvement.”
The emphasis on blocking is obviously understandable, but that isn’t the biggest issue Tennessee has with its current wide receivers group.
Separation has been a problem all season long, as has the ability to break off chunk plays through the air. It remains to be seen if Conley can help improve either situation, but I’m not holding my breath.
The addition of Conley isn’t a bad one by any means, but he isn’t the impact wideout the Titans need, either. And, with the NFL trade deadline rapidly approaching on Nov. 1, Tennessee is running out of time to add one.