Does Julio Jones make the Titans Super Bowl contenders?

(Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports)

Jones had said that he wanted to be traded to a contender with a big-armed quarterback, and though Ryan Tannehill doesn’t have the proverbial howitzer for an arm, Smith was great at scheming open big-play opportunities in the passing game. That said, Tannehill wasn’t a league-leader in big-play opportunities in either of the two seasons in which Smith was his offensive coordinator. In 2019, per Pro Football Focus, Tannehill attempted 48 passes of 20 or more air yards (Aaron Rodgers led the league with 101 such attempts), completing 16 of 48 for 611 yards, five touchdowns, and one interception. In 2020, Tannehill attempted 42 deep passes (Tom Brady led the league with 109), completing 19 for 714 yards, six touchdowns, and three interceptions.

Receiver Corey Davis was Tannehill’s primary deep target in 2020, catching six passes of 20 or more air yards on 12 attempts. The Titans lost Davis to the Jets in free agency, but A.J. Brown was right behind Davis with five deep catches on 12 targets, and Brown is still very much a part of Tennessee’s offense. How does Jones fit into this to make the Titans’ passing game more of a big-play prospect? Last season, though he missed seven games due to injuries, Jones caught seven of 14 deep passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns. And in 2019, when he was relatively healthy, Jones caught 11 of 23 deep attempts for 375 yards and (oddly enough) no touchdowns.

Jones may not be as fleet of foot as he once was, but this 40-yard touchdown against the Vikings in Week 6 shows how he can still use his field awareness, ability as a route bully, and after-catch acceleration to smoke just about any defender. Here, he’s adjusting from the outside left slot to Matt Ryan moving from the pocket, and rookie cornerback Jeff Gladney does not have a chance.

Tannehill seems pretty happy about the whole thing.