Tennessee Titans: Player Most Likely To Break Out In 2014

We continue our series on players who have a good chance of breaking out this year by delving into the Tennessee Titans’ roster—and there’s one guy who should become a star.

Maybe this one is cheating a bit because the guy had a great season last year, but Kendall Wright may have had the quietest 94 catches and 1,000 yards receiving in NFL history.

Coming out of Baylor, Wright had all the makings of a star. He had 1,663 yards and 14 touchdowns his senior year and was a big reason why Robert Griffin III won the Heisman. In fact, the only weakness on his NFL.com Draft Profile was a lack of blocking. Call me crazy, but I don’t think that a serious concern.

Wright’s Combine was a bit questionable, though. He ran a 4.61 40-yard dash, which raised some eyebrows (he was expected to be much faster). But shortly after he ran a 4.46 and a 4.43 at Baylor’s Pro Day, easing any worries about him.

The Titans drafted Wright in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft, taking him 20^th overall. The team fell in love with his productivity and wanted to have him as a key player to build around.

Since joining the Titans, Wright has done nothing but impress. His speed on the field is incredible and he constantly finds ways to get open. How else could he have come so close to 100 catches and ranked seventh in receptions in the league?

But what’s surprising about Wright is that he is a smaller guy. At 5’10” and 191 pounds, you don’t expect him to go up and get balls over defenders. That could be the reason he only had two touchdowns last year.

Still, Wright is entering his third year in the league, which is when most receivers break out. He also has a new offensive coordinator, Ken Whisenhunt, who loves to throw the ball and use his receivers near the goal line. If Whisenhunt can get Eddie Royal to catch eight touchdowns on 47 catches, then he should be able to get the larger, more athletic Wright to post similar numbers.

If Wright posts eight touchdowns like Eddie Royal did, his numbers would be among the best in the league. Considering how much Whisenhunt likes to throw the ball, he could easily go for 100 catches and 1,300 yards this year. Throw in eight touchdowns and you would essentially have Jordy Nelson’s stat line from a year ago. I’d say that’s a pretty good year.

Wright has everything he needs to have a monster year. He’s proven that he can handle a big workload, he’s entering his third season and he has a new, pass-happy coordinator. If he puts it all together—watch out.