Written by, Jake Hatch
On the second day of Christmas, the stat gods gave to me: a 1,000-yard season for Titans WR Corey Davis.
If you've listened to any of our shows, chances are that you've heard me go off on some tangent about how Tennessee Titans WR Corey Davis is my favorite non-Patriots player in the NFL. I've been a fan of his ever since his days at Western Michigan where he set the FBS record for receiving yards with 5,285, and currently, his Titans jersey is hung up on my wall in my dorm room (if I'm not wearing it of course).
After an 891 yard (946 scrimmage yard) 2018 season where his QBs Marcus Mariota and Blaine Gabbert combined for just 3,154 passing yards, I figured that it was only a matter of time before Davis fully broke out. His highlight game of the season was putting up a 121 yard 1 TD performance against star Patriots corner Stephon Gilmore, proving he had all the tools to match-up with the best of the best. After all, his 28.2% passing yard share in 2018 ranked above most 1,000-yard receivers such as Antonio Brown, Keenan Allen, T.Y Hilton, even higher than JuJu Smith-Schuster who had 1,426 receiving yards that season, and I figured all he needed was better QB play to improve his numbers.
Davis struggled in his follow-up 2019 campaign from a statistical standpoint. Even though he never had the best rapport with Mariota, he struggled even more to get on the same page with his replacement Ryan Tannehill. Additionally, rookie receiver AJ Brown from Ole Miss put up an unheard of 20.2 yards per reception en route to a 1,051 yard 8 TD season, relegating Davis to a second-fiddle role. While he struggled from a statistical standpoint, he found other ways to help the team, including garnering regular praise from HC Mike Vrabel for both his willingness and ability as a blocker, helping aid RB Derrick Henry to 1,540 rushing yards and 16 TDS in only 15 games. Despite Davis's unselfish contributions to Titans in 2019, they declined to pick up the 2017 fifth overall pick's fifth-year option on his contract, as it looked like AJ Brown officially leapfrogged him on the depth chart.
Things have been different in 2020. It's safe to say that Corey Davis has broken out this season, currently ranking 21st in the NFL with 835 receiving yards despite missing 2 games. He's become a more decisive and explosive route-runner, rounding out fewer breaks and improving his tempo while especially showing better discipline with angling his routes based on the leverage of defenders. He's always had great hands and fantastic body control that has allowed him to make spectacular catches in tight coverage, but he has also eliminated the focus drops that he used to commit, catching 76.7% of his targets this season. Advanced statistics have even been on his side, affirming his prowess as a hyper-efficient receiver this season. According to Pro Football Focus, from weeks 1-13, Davis ranked 3rd in the NFL for the highest passer rating when targeted with an insane 135.4 clip, also ranking 3rd with 2.79 yards per route run and 3rd with 11.4 yards per target.
Corey Davis deserves to get paid as a #1 caliber receiver somewhere, and whether or not the Titans choose to be that team, Davis's name certainly isn't going away anytime soon. This season is not an outlier for him, but rather a Davante Parker-esque breakout, and it's only a matter of time before he makes his first Pro-Bowl.
I can't wait to watch Davis continue to put up big numbers throughout his career, but for now, my first Christmas wish of the 2020 season is for Corey Davis to put up his long-overdue first 1,000 receiving yard season.