Early in last week’s matchup against the Texans, it looked like the Titans offense was unstoppable. That game had the early makings of a fantasy goldmine for fantasy players who owned shares of the Titans offense. Unfortunately, the Titans fell into their typical pattern and put up a very inconsistent performance as a whole. Anyone that didn’t start Jonnu Smith, Marcus Mariota, or Corey Davis left the game more frustrated than anything. This week presents a few exploitable matchups that could pay dividends for fantasy players with Titans on their rosters.
Corey Davis
Has there been a fantasy player more frustrating than Davis? There’s a legitimate case to be made that Davis is the most inconsistent player in fantasy and the NFL. Davis oozes big play potential and great hands that earned him a deserved fifth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Things appear to finally be coming together consistently for Davis. In fact, two of his last three games Davis has topped or approached 100 yards and scored a touchdown.
This week features Davis and Morris Claiborne squaring off for most of the game. Claiborne has been a pleasant surprise for the Jets this season after struggling for most of his career. However, at 5’11” Claiborne holds a significant size disadvantage against the 6’3″ Davis. Davis has also improved his footwork and separation creation this season, averaging three yards of separation per target. If Davis is able to create consistent separation against Claiborne then his size and target share make him a great play this week.
Derrick Henry
Don’t stop reading yet! Hear me out first. Okay, Henry hasn’t exactly been a fantasy all-star this year. Henry has been the more effective runner in the Titans backfield the past four games. In fact, three of the last four games have had Henry averaging at least 4.5 yards per carry. With Henry asserting himself as the bruiser and dominant possession back on the team, his opportunity for fantasy relevance increases.
According to Pro Football Focus, Henry grades out at 71.4 against the Jets this week. A quick positional analysis features Henry having a particular advantage when running to his left. Coincidently, Henry has his largest percentage of big runs when going to his left. Game script and play calling have made Henry hard to trust. However, this matchup seems to favor Henry.
Marcus Mariota
Start Mariota with confidence! He grades out as having the biggest advantage of all Titans this week. Mariota is coming off of a game in which he threw only one incompletion late in the game. Throwing out the Colts game as an outlier, Mariota has thrown for at least 220 yards and at least one touchdown. In fact, three out of his last five have featured multiple touchdown games with no interceptions. Mariota also has been making more plays with his feet, which provides him with a much safer floor. This offense goes as Mariota goes, and Mariota has been getting hot as of late.
