Despite a revolving door of targets and protection woes, rookie Cam Ward survived a turbulent debut. Advanced metrics reveal Tennessee’s pass-catchers actually outperformed several high-profile rivals.
The Tennessee Titans didn't have a great situation for rookie quarterback Cam Ward to walk into last season.
Ward had the tough task of guiding a Titans team that won three games the year before out of purgatory. His supporting cast wasn't very promising to boot.
Ward's offensive line let up 56 sacks, which was the sixth-most in the NFL.
Then, his receivers for the first half of the season were Calvin Ridley, Tyler Lockett and Van Jefferson.
It wasn't long before Jefferson lost his spot on the outside to rookie Elic Ayomanor. Then, shortly after Brian Callahan was fired, the Titans traded Lockett to the Las Vegas Raiders.
After that, Ward's top targets were Ridley, Ayomanor and Chimere Dike.
To the Titans' credit, the offense did improve after Callahan was fired. Ward finished the year on a strong note and threw for 3,169 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Things weren't ideal for Ward when it came to his receivers in his first year, but it could've been worse. Don't get me wrong, Ridley looked awful even before his season-ending injury.
Dike and Ayomanor had flashes of greatness, but neither finished with over 450 receiving yards.
At the same time, the Titans had it better than some teams, which is hard to believe.
Warren Sharp went through some numbers from last season on X and shared the teams with the highest percentage of receiver errors, which led to incompletions. While you might think the Titans would be near the top given how inconsistent the receivers were at times, Tennessee actually came in at No. 17.
The team with the highest percentage? That would be the AFC South's own Jacksonville Jaguars.
It's wild to think that even a team like the Jaguars, who had a great turnaround under first-year head coach Liam Coen, could still have this issue last season, and the Titans, who had three wins, are in the middle.
The Titans' receiver room last year was pretty bad, but not as bad as you would've thought when it came to receiver forced errors.
Now, the Titans brought back Ridley on a restructured deal and have given Ward two more weapons to throw to.
Tennessee added veteran slot receiver Wan'Dale Robinson in free agency, who just had the best season of his career with the New York Giants. Robinson had 1,014 receiving yards and four touchdowns and is already familiar with Brian Daboll's system, who is now the Titans' offensive coordinator.
The Titans also drafted Carnell Tate in the 2026 NFL Draft, who is in a prime position to be the team's WR1 this season after a successful career at Ohio State.
It was another rough season in the Music City last year, but the receivers definitely could have been on a much worse trajectory.
The Titans have now upgraded that position in the hopes that Ward is more comfortable in his second season in the league.
Things can always be worse, even when you are a three-win team.
