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Watch: Titans Passing Attack Offers Value in Fantasy Football

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TV-G
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2:28

Fantasy football players are well aware of the production Titans running back Derrick Henry brings to the table. Henry’s dominance overshadows just how good their aerial attack was in the second half of the season. From Weeks 7-17, quarterback Ryan Tannehill scored the third-most fantasy points behind only Lamar Jackson and Ryan Fitzpatrick. Like his quarterback, Wide receiver A.J. Brown was the third-highest scoring pass-catcher from Weeks 7-17. With Brown now entering his second year in the NFL and Tannehill officially inserted as the team’s starter, these two Tennessee players could be excellent value for fantasy football players. According to the latest Average Draft Position data, Brown is coming off the board in the fourth round while Tannehill is being taken as the 18th quarterback. 

AllTitans editor David Boclair and Sports Illustrated’s fantasy football analyst Corey Parson breakdown what to expect from the Titans passing game playmakers in 2020.

Read the transcript from their conversation:

Bill Enright: The Tennessee Titans had some surprises in fantasy football during the 2019 season with Ryan Tannehill coming on strong as well as rookie A.J. Brown at wide receiver and of course, Derrick Henry. But what are they going to do in 2020? Talk to David Boclair, who covers the Titans, and Corey Parson, our SI fantasy analyst. David, I'm going to start with you. Let's break down Ryan Tannehill as he took over as the starter midway through last season, entering 2020 as the full-time starter. What's the team saying about him?

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David Boclair: Everybody feels real comfortable about him and his role in leading the offense. He was certainly is very successful in a number of ways. Last season, the accuracy was 70% and if you look at the receivers, pretty much everybody there, their catch percentage in the final 10 games when Tannehill was the starter was better than it was in the first six games when Marcus Mariota was the starter. The big question with Ryan Tannehill, of course, is the fact that Derrick Henry is in the backfield. The Titans showed in the first two rounds of the playoffs that they are willing to lean on Derrick Henry and do what they need to do in that regard to win games. So there might be times this season when Ryan Tannehill simply does not throw the ball that much. Arthur Smith, the offensive coordinator, has said he wants to do what he can to make sure everybody stays involved and stays happy. Yet he didn't dismiss the possibility that he would ride with Henry as many times as possible this year as well.

Bill Enright: Corey, let's talk about Tannehill's targets. You got Corey Davis, which a lot of people think of him as a bust. A.J. Brown entering his second year and Jonnu Smith taking over for Delanie Walker, anyone from this receiving corps that you have your eyes on?

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Corey Parson: Well, definitely, you got to have your eyes on the young man, A.J. Brown. You saw what he was able to do last year when Tannehill became the quarterback. His game really started picking up. As a matter of fact, a lot of people have won fantasy football championships last year was due to the strength of A.J. Brown. What I worry about is his average draft position. Right now, he's going to their 4th round range. As we get closer to kickoff, you could see that start to push up. That's when I will pull back. As far as the rest of them go, I'm never going to trust Corey Davis again in fantasy football. And Jonnu Smith, I think, is a guy you could take as a late-round flier.

Bill Enright: Can't trust Corey Davis. That's a mantra that all fantasy football managers should adopt. We are going team by team with plenty of fantasy football outlooks. You can find more of it by going to SI.com/fantasy.

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