Titans should look for a slot receiver in the draft

Harry Douglas is Tennessee’s lone returning slot receiver following the departure of Kendall Wright this offseason. Douglas averaged 1.26 slot receiving yards per route run and had 59 receiving yards after the catch last season. He finished with a PFF grade of 68.6.

With a need to give quarterback Marcus Mariota more weapons, the Titans should look toward dipping into this year’s deep class of slot receivers after the first round.

• Oklahoma receiver Dede Westbrook averaged 4.69 receiving yards per route run out of the slot, which is the third-highest rate in this year’s class. He also averaged 9.7 yards after the catch.
• East Carolina’s Zay Jones averaged 3.41 slot receiving yards per route run, which ranks seventh in this year’s wide receiver class.
• Eastern Washington’s Cooper Kupp posted the second-most receptions (99) and third-most yards (1,315) out of the slot last season, while Louisiana Tech’s Trent Taylor had a nation-best 131 receptions for 1,734 yards out of the slot.
• Northwestern’s Austin Carr had 90 catches for 1,247 yards and 12 touchdowns as a slot receiver in 2016. His PFF grade of 89.5 was the highest among college wideouts last season.
• Ohio State running back Curtis Samuel lined up in the slot on 425 of his 670 snaps last season. He caught 56 passes for 701 yards from the slot and he ranked second in the running back class with 2.76 receiving yards per route run.