The Tennessee Titans have a solid wide receiving corps that includes DeAndre Hopkins, Calvin Ridley, Tyler Boyd, Treylon Burks, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, and Jha’Quan Jackson. With Will Levis lining up under center, the receiving production has been spotty at best.
Initially, Ridley was the guy. Levis connected with him early in the first two games, but against the Green Bay Packers, he was more inclined to throw to Hopkins. His knee is on the mend and he caught six of seven targets in the last outing.
The thing is, Hopkins was brought in to help mentor Treylon Burks as well as bolster the receiving options, but Burks really hasn’t amounted to what the Titans hoped he would. Plagued by injuries, he hasn’t yet made the impact that was expected, leading some to wonder when Westbrook-Ikhine will get a shot.
The Titans want Burks to play, as indicated by offensive coordinator Nick Holz.
“We want Treylon to play,” Holz said, via the Nashville Post. “We want him to go out there and make plays. I think at some point, if you keep getting targets and things don’t go your way … Sometimes it’s been a little bit bad luck and some of the targets, maybe he gets doubled or we wanted the ball to go somewhere else or the protection put it where he got it.
“So, it’s a balancing for everything. We have faith in Treylon. We have faith in Nick. We think both those guys are really valuable pieces of our offense.”
Hopkins is a veteran receiver who is useful now; he’s a guy Levis can absolutely rely on and should be utilized regularly. The same goes for Ridley and Boyd.
Burks could still have a future in Tennessee, but it’s not right now, and it’s time for Holz and Brian Callahan to give Westbrook-Ikhine and Jackson more opportunities.