Jason Wood's Thoughts

Drew Bennett has earned a modicum of respect from me because he played a small but important role in my winning the first ever Footballguys staff league. A 12-team league with very deep rosters meant that free agency was basically a hit or miss proposition, hoping upon hope that your fill-in gets the job done in the clutch. While that's usually a recipe for disaster, I had to start him as my WR3 in Week 9 and he proceeded to get me 97 yards and a touchdown. Not Earth shattering stuff but good enough to give me a close victory.

That said, what we really want to know is if either Bennett or Tyrone Calico has a chance to produce for a good portion of the season as a fantasy commodity. Make no mistake, with Justin McCareins gone and TE Frank Wycheck retiring, there are a lot of potential Steve McNair passes up for grabs. Remember, the Titans have morphed into a dynamic passing attack (5th in passing yards, 3rd in touchdowns) under OC Mike Heimerdinger; this is a team that will throw for a good amount of yards as long as he's calling the plays and McNair is under center.

But while I believe the team will continue to throw the ball with proficiency, I'm inclined to project the team to regress back into the 3,600-3,700 range this year. One, HC Jeff Fisher still believes in ball control, a strong running game and solid defense wins championships. Last year the team passed the ball because they had to, with Eddie George a shadow of his former self and rookie Chris Brown not yet ready for a full time workload. Without further ado, let's analyze what's changed in Tennessee from 2003 to 2004 and how that might shape our expectations for Bennett and Calico.

1. Whither the running game? - Despite finishing 9th in rushing attempts, the team finished an abysmal 26th in rushing yards and had the 2nd worst team yards-per-carry at 3.34. The reason? Eddie George simply isn't the back he used to be and has more trouble hitting the hole than a blind man on a golf course. With George no longer a Titan, it is clear the team plans on getting Chris Brown more involved in the offense. Brown, a big back who was wildly productive at the University of Colorado, struggled to get on the field much of his rookie year, but started to show quite a bit in the late part of the season and the playoffs. Net-net, I believe a renewed focus on the running game combined with the departure of several proven receivers will lead to a modest decrease in the team's overall passing yardage.



2. Changes in the receiving pecking order - Derrick Mason, the team's leading receiver (95 catches and 1,303 yards last season) remains a constant and will surely be McNair's most targeted receiver again in 2004. But gone is the team's 2nd most targeted receiver (Justin McCareins) and Frank Wycheck, who has long been McNair's safety value under pressure. As a result, Drew Bennett is projected as the starter while 2nd year Tyrone Calico steps into the WR3 role. As important, the team spent an early draft pick on TE Ben Troupe, a polished receiving threat out of the University of Florida. Troupe and incumbent TE Erron Kinney should see as many or more passes thrown to them than Calico.

What makes this situation so intriguing is that Calico and Bennett couldn't be more different if they tried. Both are tall (6'5" for Bennett, 6'4" for Calico) but Bennett is listed at 202 pounds (very thin for someone so tall) while Calico is a solid 222 pounds. Bennett played at UCLA, although he's a converted QB who caught just 8 passes in college; while Calico played for "where's that again?" Middle Tennessee State. Bennett can get decent separation off the line, but isn't a burner nor does he generate much after the catch; while Calico has speed to burn (he was one of the fastest WRs coming out of college in 2002) but needs to work on his positioning to get better separation. Bennett is sure handed but doesn't handle contact well (he's missed games in each of his three seasons, but dropped just nine passes in 3 seasons); Calico isn't afraid to go over the middle but was prone to painful lapses of concentration and dropped too many catchable balls last year.

To put a finer point on things, Bennett has been more productive for the Titans than Calico when given the chance; however Calico's combination of size and speed (and less NFL experience) lead many to project Calico as having a brighter future as he continues to develop. I'm simply not sure there's evidence that Calico has the requisite discipline and skill to develop beyond what the team will use him for in 2003, a deep threat in 3 receiver sets.

Positives

• The Titans have evolved into a proficient passing offense under OC Mike Heimerdinger



• Both Bennett and Calico should see increased workloads with the departure of Justin McCareins



• Drew Bennett is entrenched as the starter opposite Derrick Mason

Negatives

• Calico is raw; an unpolished route runner prone to dropped passes and lapses of concentration



• Bennett hasn't shown the ability to make plays with the ball; his body type isn't conducive to making tough catches in traffic



• The team will almost assuredly look to reestablish the running game this season, allowing Chris Brown (and potentially Antowain Smith) to take a larger piece of the offensive pie

Final Thoughts

Drew Bennett is the 44th WR off the board in mock drafts according to Xpertleagues, while Tyrone Calico is the 47th receiver off the board. In other words, both WRs are going around the same time. That, to me, makes little sense as Bennett is entrenched as the starter, has shown himself to be far more productive in this offense, has not been in the coaches' doghouse, and gets first dibs at making up for the departure of Justin McCareins. Calico is being asked to improve on a season where he caught more than 3 passes just once, infuriated coaches with his lapses in concentration, and only appeals to fantasy owners because of his measurables as people have visions of "upside" dancing in their heads. If you're looking for a late round WR to fill out your roster, make sure it's Drew Bennett and let the gamblers opt for the sure-to-disappoint Tyrone Calico.

Colin Dowling's Thoughts

What a mess. An absolute "Interstate 35-in-rush-hour" MESS. The only thing that could make this more of a traffic jam is if Justin McCareins were still in town. So, in that regard, his departure makes it a little easier to write an analysis of Drew Bennett and Tyrone Calico. Gee, thanks.

Did you ever think there'd be so much fervor over the #2 wide receiver for a team that until recently preferred to run the ball rather than pass it? Well, here we are, and I'll tell you why: Some people think that Drew Bennett can develop into a solid WR2 to be selected in the latter part of a draft to round out a receiving corps for value. Other people think it's only a matter of time until the natural talents of Tyrone Calico turn him into the WR1 in Nashville. Ah, the eternal fantasy-football battle: Upside or Reliability?

Although I do have an opinion regarding this matter, I'll give you a little information about both guys and than give you what I think is a solid strategy if you want to get involved in this mess.

Drew Bennett was a quarterback at UCLA who sat behind Cade McNown for the better part of his college career. While McNown was busy getting, uh, "preferred parking spots" and stealing Playmates from Tim Couch, Bennett was impressing the Titans scouts enough to make the switch to receiver and draw an NFL salary long after McNown was back flipping burgers. Bennett is tall, possesses solid speed and has better-than-average hands (2004's season ending play notwithstanding). Bennett produced consistently last season when healthy, and found a way to get to the deep ball on more than one occasion.

Tyrone Calico was a small-college wide receiver who leapt up draft boards after posting 4.3-speed in his workouts before the 2003 draft. He's tall also and shows a level of athleticism that is rare even in the NFL. Oh yeah, he drops catchable balls, his routes need work, and he has lapses in concentration. However, to his credit, he showed himself to be a solid redzone target and he had a few games where he gobbled up yardage.

So, here we are, left to try and figure out which of these guys is worth a nibble in fantasy leagues. It goes without saying that, at present, Drew Bennett is the starting WR2 for the Titans. It also goes without saying that you're in absolute denial if you think the team is satisfied with a 6'6 wide receiver with 4.3 speed being restricted to 3-wide sets. Bottom line: Its Bennett's job right now, but the real mystery is figuring out how long he'll keep it.

The Titans coaching staff has long succeeded in teaching receivers to catch. For example, Derrick Mason was a special team's guy and 3rd WR for a while too…until he learned to catch. Same with the aforementioned Drew Bennett, who had plenty of kinks to iron out when he came to Tennessee. There are plenty of others as well. So now, we're left wondering if they can teach Calico to catch. While I haven't been hanging around the Baptist Sports Complex, I'd wager that Calico has been getting his work in. As for Bennett, he'll likely continue being a productive second option. So, what to make of it all? Who to choose? The answer is simple:

Draft both.

If you want any part of one, draft the other as well.

Final Thoughts

Last season, as we were sifting through the Green Bay WRs, I encouraged many of you to take Robert Ferguson and Javon Walker and draft a defense with a late bye. Then, when it became apparent which of the Green Bay wide receivers had more value, you could drop the other and pick up a defense to cover your bye-week. I'm employing, and encouraging, the same strategy regarding Calico and Bennett this season. Why? Because the guy that has the most value in Week 1 (Bennett) probably won't be the guy that has the most value in Week 16 (Calico). However, since none of us are going to be able to pin it down any better than, "Calico should start getting more and more looks as the season wears on", I'd encourage you to draft both guys and hold onto them until it becomes clear who will be the main benefactor when you're in your playoff run.

Looking at over 100 recently completed 12 team redraft mocks, Bennett is the 46th WR off the board and Calico is the 47th, both being selected at the end of the 12th round. I'm CERTAIN that these guys will outperform their spot as the last of the WR4s taken. Figuring out which one you should call on from week to week is another job entirely. But that's what the season is for…

Quotations from the Message Board Thread

To view the entire Player Spotlight thread (there's a ton of fantastic commentary in there), click here.

Iwannabeacowboybaby!:
"The Tennessee Titans have become one of the most dangerous passing teams in the league. Although impressed with McNair last season, I was equally impressed with the emergence of the young Tennessee receivers."

diesel7982:
"Last year, the Titans offense produced a little over 4000 yards passing, and 70% of those yards went to their top 4 WRs (Mason-1300, McCariens-800, Bennett-500, Calico-300). With McCareins gone, and their being no other WR worthy of playing time on the roster, we can expect Bennett and Calico to get plenty of work. This is especially true considering the Titans still have no receiving option at RB, and only added Ben Troupe(Who will likely pickup Wycheck's stats from last year and eat into Kinney's).

If we assume the Titans to get the same 4000 passing yards again, and they throw to their receivers with the same frequency, we can expect Bennett and Calico to split 1500-1700 yards between them."

KKrew:
"I have Steve McNair completing 305 passes in 2004. None of those will go to Frank Wycheck or Justin McCareins (yep, my crystal ball says so). Derrick Mason will get the lion's share of the grabs - I say 90. Bennett & Calico will get about the same amount of attention from McNair. The key is which will get more of the redzone targets and who will convert the opportunities? I say Calico will nominally outplay Bennett."

loser:
"Bennett is a possession receiver in the truest sense of the word. He does nothing after the catch and is certainly no deep threat. Six catches over twenty yards won't get it done. The guy is a statue in the secondary, and his body type isn't conducive to the types of hits he takes. I agree he has great hands and great intangibles, and that will get him some looks, but I have injury concerns with him.

Calico has a lot to learn about running routes, and his hands aren't great, but he is an amazing talent who can beat the jam off the line and make full use of his 4.27 speed. Plus, he's got great body control on the deep ball. McNair will be in love with him come mid-season He should fill McCareins role admirably."

Jayhawk:
"I've always thought I've overvalued Calico. I like the guy's potential, and see him as a young T. Owens. But I don't see him going over 700 yards this year, as he is still quite raw. He didn't exactly play college ball for a powerhouse, even though he played against good competition.

Bennett will get the bulk of catches and yards, but Calico is a good redzone target this year. (I expect BIG things in 2005)"

Drew Bennett Projections

Tyrone Calico Projections