Davis’ breakout is best part of Titans’ success
As a sports columnist, there are stories you have to tell, and then there are others you want to tell.
This one happens to be both. Because there is no better developing storyline from the Titans' 2020 season than what is happening with wide receiver Corey Davis.
A 110-yard receiving day against the Detroit Lions brought Davis to 945 yards on 60 catches this season. He's already surpassed his career-best season in yardage. He's zeroing in on a Pro Bowl and the first 1,000-yard season of his four in the NFL.
Teammates are delighted.
Really, how could anyone not be? "It's good to see him finally get a break," fellow receiver A.J. Brown said.
This season with Davis represents a good thing happening to a good person, one that Titans players truly believe has earned it.
It's so easy to root for Davis for the same reason he has long been so respected by teammates. He's soft-spoken, humble, thoughtful, an ideal teammate.
What he has done well, you don't always notice. Derrick Henry, who would know, has long raved about Davis' run blocking and says he's one of the best at it in the NFL.
This season, the best of Davis' career, has been horrific emotionally. He is grieving for his brother Titus, who died last month at only 27 from a rare form of kidney cancer. They were very close. Davis has called his brother one of his heroes and his biggest fan.
Since then, Davis has played in six games and topped 100 receiving yards in three.
“I know he's making his brother proud,” quarterback Ryan Tannehill said.
Football fans outside of the Titans' sphere might not realize all that.
What they probably do know, however, is that Davis was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft after a prolific career at Western Michigan.
As far as receivers go, Julio Jones was taken sixth in 2011.
To take Davis, the Titans passed on Christian Mccaffrey, Patrick Mahomes, Marshon Lattimore, Deshaun Watson and T.J. Watt.
For years, the Titans have been waiting on the breakout that is finally beginning to take shape with Davis.
Prior to this season, general manager Jon Robinson declined Davis' fifth-year option (and the Titans did pick up the option for cornerback Adoree' Jackson).
It's easy now in hindsight to criticize that decision. But at the time, I thought it was the correct move. Everyone liked Davis and acknowledged his value in the run game, but his production simply wasn't meeting his exorbitant expectations.
And Davis knew that, too. He has all
along.
“Mentally, I feel like I'm in a better place,” Davis said after Sunday's win. “The past few years, I would put a lot of pressure on myself, and sometimes it was too much pressure. It would just end up having a negative impact on my playing.
“So this year I'm a lot more free, just going out there, playing and having fun with it.”
It's not just football. Davis said he “kind of got my priorities right” and changed his relationship with God. That's not something he has talked about much, but it's "a big part" of his improved mental state, he said.
Other aspects have helped, too.
For one, he has remained healthy. He has Tannehill in the pocket dealing passes like the 75-yarder he dropped in there against the Lions, allowing Davis to maneuver niftily past the defensive back and into the end zone.
And it has helped a ton that Brown has emerged in his second season as a legitimate No. 1 receiving threat opposite Davis. Defenses have to target Brown, while Davis as a complementary option has been far more formidable than Davis when the defenses were focusing on him.
“Most of the time, he's attracting the attention,” Davis said of Brown, “kind of freeing me up and vice versa.”
As magnificent as Brown has been for
the Titans, Davis leads the Titans in catches and receiving yards.
Good for him. Davis had so much out there to prove when entering this season. There was hope in the preseason, but truthfully, I wouldn't have bet on him doing it.
The Titans, in fact, didn't bet on it, and they are going to have to pay up to keep him on the team in 2021. And if they don't, it's becoming clear that another NFL team would.
“We are not talking about the future,” Brown said, “but I hope he is here next year.”
Reach Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Gentry_estes.