Play-action passes -- With Henry and Lewis running behind a line that should return intact from 2017, the Titans should have at least enough firepower to match last season's ground attack, when they finished 15th in the league in rushing.

It's not out of the question that they move back closer to where they finished in 2016 – third in the rushing game.

In any event, the Titans' running attack should provide more than enough of a threat for a quality play-action passing attack.

The Titans used play-action passes on 23.5 percent of Mariota's drop-backs plays last season, which was 12th-highest in the league, according to Pro Football Focus.

But don't be surprised to see that percentage increase in 2018.

One reason is the arrival of LaFleur. His Rams used play-action even more than the Titans last season (closer to 30 percent). And if you want to go back even further, LaFleur was quarterbacks coach in Washington in 2012, when the Redskins used play-action on an eye-opening 42 percent of rookie Robert Griffin III's dropbacks, per PFF.

The second reason to expect more play action is that Mariota has proven very talented in that aspect of the game. PFF ranked Mariota tops in the league in play-action last season with a 122.8 rating, with nine touchdowns, three interceptions and an NFL-best 11.2 yards per attempt.

"First of all, it really all starts with our run game," LaFleur said when asked about what identity he wants for the Titans' offense. "That's how we're going to try to have a strong marriage between the run and the pass. So that to a defense, it might look like, `Here comes another run,' and it's a play-action pass off that run."