NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Titans have plenty of offensive adjustments to make during the bye week, but the most significant one could be the return of rookie receiver Corey Davis.

The Titans' fifth overall pick has been a key missing cog over the five weeks as he sat with a hamstring injury. All signs point to him coming back Week 9 vs. the Baltimore Ravens. Titans coach Mike Mularkey got perky while discussing his return, saying Davis will make "a big difference."

"He did some really good things in his one game, with no prior game experience," Mularkey said speaking to Davis' six catches for 69 yards in his lone full NFL game. "We should be better if we can get him back."

The Titans coaching staff will use this week to evaluate themselves and the players. They'll look at why they've struggled in situational areas like red zone, third down and short yardage compared to a year ago. And they'll look at each player on every play to judge who is giving them the best chance to win going forward.

A few conclusions should be made regarding their passing offense, which ranks 26th in the NFL following Week 7:

• There needs to be more flexibility in terms of playcalling based on what a defense presents, particularly early in games.

• Marcus Mariota needs to be more comfortable and consistent. Full health is step one. Step two is running more of his favorite plays and making sure the offense is built around what he does best, like play-action.

• Utilizing your best individual playmakers and inserting speed in the offense is essential.

We'll talk about the last one here because that's where Davis comes in. Davis needs to be a full-time starter opposite Rishard Matthews once he's fully healthy and up to speed. And Davis' return shouldn't mean a demotion for current WR3 Taywan Taylor, the Titans' best deep threat.

Davis was brought in to be the Titans No. 1 receiver, and he can be that over the second half of the season. His crisp route-running and unique ability to consistently make highlight grabs will be a much-needed resource in this offense. He displayed that in his training camp cameo and in Week 1.

Receivers coach Frisman Jackson, offensive coordinator Terry Robiskie and Mularkey took turns quizzing Davis in meetings to keep his mind progressing while his hamstring was healing. That should help Davis have an immediate impact.

Matthews is a third down monster who Mariota often looks to in key situations, but Davis will present defenses with different challenges and take pressure off the rest of the receiving corps.

So what happens to Eric Decker? Well, Decker might be best suited as a reserve who comes in during red zone and special situations. He's a savvy veteran who hasn't shown the consistent ability to get open as a starter this season. An ankle injury has limited him, but he followed his best game of the season vs. the Colts (seven catches, 88 yards) with no catches against a depleted Browns secondary.

A big portion of that is lack of consistent separation. Decker ranks 119th in separation among 127 wide receivers and tight ends with at least 18 targets following Sunday's games, per NFL Next Gen stats. Matthews ranks 62nd, tight end Delanie Walker 97th.

Limited separation forces precise passes and/or a lot of 50-50 balls, which is a part of why the Titans are unable to lean more on the pass when teams put eight-in-the-box to stop the run.

"We had a lot of contested plays and we didn't make a lot of them," Mularkey said.

Titans tight ends and running backs (14) had double the amount of catches that wide receivers (seven) did Sunday. Wide receivers were only targeted on 13 of Mariota's 34 passes. That should change once Davis returns. There's a number of issues for the Titans coaching staff to fix, but Davis' return will be the easiest.