When Tennessee coach Mike Mularkey promised to unleash “exotic smashmouth” football on the NFL last year, reactions ranged from bemusement to straight-up condescension. But then the Titans actually began smashing mouths, and suddenly Mularkey’s branding didn’t seem so funny.

Tennessee’s rushing offense ranked third in the league in yards per game (136.7) and fourth in yards per carry (4.6) last season. DeMarco Murray bounced back from a massively disappointing season in Philadelphia to finish third in the NFL rushing (1287), fourth in scrimmage yards (1664) and seventh in total touchdowns (12). Murray carried the ball 293 times and caught 53 balls on 67 targets. He faded a bit down the stretch, gaining just 4.0 YPC over his final eight games after averaging 4.7 in the first eight, but there’s no way to spin his season as anything less than stellar. We can’t reasonably expect another 340-plus touches from Murray in 2017, but it’s clear enough that he remains the featured runner for the Titans:

Mularkey on @Titans RBs: “I’ve said it before: @DeMarcoMurray is our No.1 back. He is our workhorse.”@Titans — Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) March 28, 2017

However, we should note that 2015 Heisman winner Derrick Henry was terrific in his first pro season. Henry carried the ball 110 times in a supporting role, rushing for 490 yards (4.5 YPC) and five scores. At 6-foot-3 and nearly 250 pounds, gifted with terrific long speed, Henry is all kinds of trouble for would-be tacklers. He’s a punishing runner, a nightmare for defenders when allowed a few clean steps after the handoff. Unlike Murray, Henry did his best work in the second half of 2016. He averaged 4.7 YPC and scored four of his five TDs in the season’s final eight games. Tennessee’s line was one of the best run-blocking units in the league last year, and Henry and Murray took full advantage. Expect more of the same in the season ahead.

Don’t be surprised if Murray cedes 40-50 carries to Henry, in an effort maximize the per-touch production of each player. DeMarco is the more accomplished receiver, likely to again haul in another 50-plus passes. This team’s ground game remains one of the league’s best, without question — and we haven’t even considered the rushing contributions of Tennessee’s quarterback just yet.

Marcus Mariota is poised to make a value leap.

Is there a more obvious breakout QB candidate in 2017? Arguably no, there is not.

Mariota finished as the No. 10 fantasy scorer at his position last year on a per-game basis, and it’s easy to imagine him climbing three or four additional spots. He averaged only 30.1 pass attempts per game in 2016, but 5.8 percent of his throws resulted in touchdowns, the fourth highest TD rate in the league. He averaged 7.6 yards per attempt, he reduced his interception rate from 2.7 to 2.0, and he carried the ball 60 times for 349 yards (5.8 YPC). Deep ball ability was a question mark for Mariota entering the league, but he took plenty of vertical shots in 2016, averaging 4.6 deep balls per game and completing 42.0 percent. He suffered a fractured right fibula in Week 16, but he’s fully operational now — in fact, he shed weight in the offseason to become a more dangerous dual-threat QB. He was a thrilling runner at the collegiate level, in addition to being a hyper-efficient passer. It’s not crazy to think his rush attempts could jump from 60 to 85 or 90 in the year ahead; if that happens, he’ll deliver 500 or so rushing yards on top of his passing totals.

Simply put, Mariota is an ascending talent coming off a pair of excellent seasons. You should want him in any sort of fantasy format. His receiving corps received multiple upgrades in the offseason, too. The only real issue with his fantasy profile is projected pass volume, but his efficiency ameliorates that concern to a large extent.



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How exactly will targets be distributed in Tennessee’s revamped receiving corps?

Last season, we learned that one of the defining characteristics of the exotic smashmouth offense appears to be run/pass balance. The Titans finished with nearly as many rush attempts (476) as passes (504) last year, ranking fourth in the NFL in the former and No. 28 in the latter. No Tennessee player saw more than Rishard Matthews’ 108 targets; he led the team in receiving yards (945) and touchdowns (9), and tied for the lead in receptions (65). Matthews averaged 6.8 air yards per target, according to Player Profiler, one of the highest totals in the league among high-volume receivers. (For reference, DeSean Jackson averaged 7.5 and Tavon Austin just 2.3). With new weapons in the mix for the Titans, we shouldn’t expect Matthews’ targets to increase, but let’s also not assume he’ll take a massive value hit. He’s coming off a terrific year and he’s built rapport with Mariota. Continuity is king in the NFL. Matthews won’t need to match last year’s numbers to earn his dirt-cheap Yahoo ADP (113.6). He remains a top-of-the-depth-chart receiver for this team, and his quarterback works him hard near the end-zone. Matthews saw 15 red-zone targets last season and seven inside the 10-yard line.