NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Rishard Matthews had to pull out the receipts. Delanie Walker has been the face of the Tennessee Titans receiving corps over the past few years, but Matthews got him in yards and touchdowns last season.

So when Walker started yapping at some of the Titans' receivers about still being the man in this offense, Matthews wasn't going to sit back and let that fly. A friendly, vocal competition was born.

"Delanie talks a lot of trash. I talk a lot of trash when I get to know you," said Matthews, who had a career-high 65 catches, 945 yards and nine touchdowns in 2016. "He thought he had the most yards and touchdowns last year, but I had to let him know he didn't. I don't know if he's getting too old that he didn't remember, but I had to remind him and hopefully I can remind him again this year."

The Titans revamped their receiving corps this offseason, adding veteran red zone monster Eric Decker and explosive rookies Corey Davis and Taywan Taylor. The hope is this group can go from pedestrian to impressive in one season. They have the horses to do it.

Despite the additions, Walker and Matthews are still early favorites to lead the team in yards and touchdowns, with Decker and Davis likely following closely behind. The Titans have a team-first, everybody-will-eat mantra, but they'll pay attention to the stat sheet at least for the internal competition.

"Did Rishard tell you why he got more yards last year? Because they're double-teaming me. Obviously, I'm helping him get open," said Walker, who had 65 catches, 800 yards and seven touchdowns last season. "Until they start double-teaming him, yeah, he might get more yards than me. Tight ends usually don't compete with receivers, but he competing with me because he knows who the dominant receiver is. I am."

The double-teams should decrease for Walker this season now that Decker, Davis and Taylor will add stress on defensive backs. Walker is excited about the new playmakers, which he believes will open up lanes for Matthews, himself and all the other weapons to roam a little freer.

While Decker, Davis and Taylor will add big-play ability and red zone threats to the Titans' offense, the value of reliability and consistency with Walker and Matthews will remain essential.

Quarterback Marcus Mariota said Matthews and Walker are the type of players that make it easy on a quarterback because of the trust he’s built with them and the separation they get on their defenders.

Walker is the receiving weapon opposing defenses game plan for the most. Only a few other NFL tight ends -- Rob Gronkowski, Jordan Reed, Greg Olsen -- consistently produce and demand No. 1 receiver attention. He knows that won't last forever.

"I hope Rishard has a great year. I shouldn't be the leading receiver; I'm a tight end," Walker, 33, said. "Any one of those guys, they can have that."

What the internal competition does is fuel the rest of the team. When Walker goes to the wide receivers toward the far side of the Titans' locker room, he'll joke that he's the fastest of the group. Then he proceeds to the defensive backs to claim none of them can stop him. Inevitably, he'll get a little extra from each group in practice. It's his way of providing veteran leadership.

"I definitely look to Delanie to motivate me. It's healthy competition. He pushes me," Matthews said. "I try to mimic what he does in certain areas. Hopefully we'll be neck and neck and I'll come through with the competition in the end."