After a dismal year of drops and injuries, Tennessee rebuilt their arsenal around rookie Carnell Tate, aiming to leapfrog divisional rivals with a revamped passing attack.
Tennessee Titans fans around the mid-state had to watch in horror as to how bad the receiving corps was for Cam Ward's rookie year.
You had Calvin Ridley, who had drop issues and proved that he wasn't ready for the responsibility of being the Titans' WR1. He was a massive disappointment after being a 1,000-yard receiver in 2024, with Will Levis and Mason Rudolph splitting time as his quarterback.
Ridley then suffered a season-ending injury after seven games played. He's now back with the team on a restructured deal and on thin ice heading into 2026.
Then, there were veterans Van Jefferson and Tyler Lockett.
Jefferson is a Nashville native who attended Ravenwood High School. He started on the outside with Ridley, but then his inconsistent play caused the Titans to start rookie Elic Ayomanor over him.
Lockett didn't look the part either.
His only touchdown of the season was recovering the fumble in the end zone on that wild sequence in the Arizona Cardinals game in Week 5. Lockett didn't stay on the team as long as Jefferson did, as he was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders at the deadline.
The Titans' starting receivers after the deadline were Ridley, Ayomanor and Chimere Dike. Ayomanor and Dike showed a lot of promise, but it wasn't enough for the Titans to average more than 190.6 passing yards per game, which was the fourth-fewest in the league.
General Manager Mike Borgonzi knew that Ward needed more weapons at receiver and went to work. He acquired Wan'Dale Robinson in free agency and selected Carnell Tate No. 4 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft.
After examining the Titans' upgraded receiver room, it's gotten me thinking. The Titans could have one of the best receiver rooms in the AFC South now, if not the best.
Let's look at where the other teams in the division stand.
The Indianapolis Colts let Michael Pittman go to the Pittsburgh Steelers and are now down a productive player. Their starters are projected to be Alec Pierce, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, and Josh Downs.
They also have Deion Burks, Ashton Dulin and Anthony Gould. Alec Pierce is good, but not enough to elevate the Colts over the Titans at receiver.
I think the Titans are better than the Colts at receiver.
Then, there's the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Jaguars have Brian Thomas Jr., Jakobi Meyers, Parker Washington and Travis Hunter. They also drafted C.J. Williams and Josh Cameron. Thomas dealt with multiple injuries last season, and Hunter tore his LCL in October of his rookie year.
Washington had a good season in 2025, but he doesn't do enough for me to put the Jaguars ahead of the Titans.
Last but not least is the Texans.
The Texans have a phenomenal receiver in Nico Collins. The other projected starters are Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel. Tank Dell will be back in the mix eventually, but he's still recovering from that awful knee injury he suffered in Week 16 of the 2024 season.
Xavier Hutchinson and Lewis Bond are also in the receiver room.
It's tough to decide which has the better receiver room when healthy. Dell and Collins are a dynamic one-two punch when healthy and probably rival the Titans the most at receiver after the upgrades Borgonzi made.
At the moment, I think the Titans have a better receiver room, but if Dell was healthy, I would probably pick the Texans.
The Titans have elevated the level of many position groups, but one of the most important for this franchise to get right was receiver.
After being a bottom-five passing offense last year, this Titans team needs a better season out of its receivers, for Ward and the franchise's sake.
