Julio Jones named Titans’ biggest reason for optimism by B/R

The Tennessee Titans have plenty of reasons to be optimistic for the 2021 season. After all, they are set to sport an elite offense once again, and their defense couldn’t possibly be any worse than it was in 2020 when they won the division in spite of it.

The addition of Julio Jones was no doubt Tennessee’s biggest splash of the offseason, and Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox believes his presence is the team’s biggest reason for optimism.

Tennessee also traded for future Hall of Famer Julio Jones to replace the departed Corey Davis this offseason. With Jones and Brown on the perimeter and Tannehill and Henry in the backfield, containing the Titans offense will be a tall order.

“I mean, defenses, you’re really going to have to pick your poison,” Jones told reporters.

The Titans ranked second in offensive yardage and fourth in points scored a season ago, and they could be even more potent if Jones returns to Pro Bowl form. Davis never had a 1,000-yard campaign in Tennessee. When Jones was healthy in 2019, he amassed 1,394 yards and six touchdowns. Three years ago, he led the league in receiving yards.

Having Jones to go along with Derrick Henry, A.J. Brown and Ryan Tannehill guarantees the Titans will have an elite offense once again, and it’s quite possible this unit could be all-time good.

Perhaps most importantly, Jones provides the kind of upgrade over Corey Davis that Tennessee desperately needed. Now, the Titans have a passing attack capable of carrying the offense when Henry gets stifled, which is something that was a major cause of the team’s last two playoff exits.

With all this talk about Jones, Henry, and Brown, it’s often overlooked that the Titans have great depth beyond them, with talented pass-catchers like Josh Reynolds and Anthony Firkser set to be third and fourth options in the passing game.

While there are reasons to be optimistic about the defense, there are too many question marks there to list that as the No. 1 reason to have a rosy outlook on 2021. This offense with Jones easily takes the cake.