NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Adding former Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Calvin Ridley gives the Tennessee Titans a much-needed playmaker on offense. It also allows them to take a key playmaker from their AFC South rival.
New Titans coach Brian Callahan and general manager Ran Carthon have gone to extra lengths to revamp and modernize the offense. That's why they added Ridley, ESPN's top-ranked free agent receiver coming into the week.
The run-first offense is clearly a thing of the past. That style of offense left when Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry moved on to the Baltimore Ravens via free agency. Tennessee will still want to run the ball in select situations, so they signed former Dallas Cowboys back Tony Pollard, whose 1,005 rushing yards ranked 12th last season. But Callahan has his sights set on excelling in the passing game.
"The teams that win the most games are generally the teams that pass the ball the best," Callahan said during his introductory news conference. "Usually because they have really good quarterbacks, and usually because they have guys that can make plays on the football outside."
Second-year quarterback Will Levis, whom the Titans traded up to draft in the second round, likes to push the ball down the field as shown by his league-leading 10.3 average air yards per attempt.
That's where Ridley figures to benefit the Titans the most. Ridley gives the Titans a legitimate threat from the outside.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, Ridley's 768 receiving yards on the perimeter ranked fifth in the NFL on passes thrown outside the numbers. Last season, the Titans recorded the fifth-fewest receiving yards on passes thrown outside the numbers -- only the Jets, Patriots, Cardinals and Broncos had fewer.
Ridley joins forces with DeAndre Hopkins, and the two would give the Titans their first pair of receivers to start a season having finished the previous with 1,000 or more yards since Derrick Mason (1,168) and Drew Bennett (1,247) in 2004. Hopkins' 1,057 receiving yards last season marked only the 11th time a Titans receiver finished with 1,000 or more yards and the first time since A.J. Brown did so in 2020.
Signing Ridley came at a premium cost. But the Titans had enough resources to confidently make the decision to pay him $92 million over four years with $50 million guaranteed. The Titans got a close look at Ridley last season as he posted two of his four 100-yard receiving games against them. New offensive coordinator Nick Holz got an even better perspective of Ridley last season as Jacksonville's passing game coordinator.
Titans assistant general manager Anthony Robinson was a part of the Atlanta Falcons personnel department that scouted Ridley out of Alabama and selected him with the No. 26 pick in the 2018 draft.
Although Ridley's signing will be the highlight of free agency for the Titans, his contribution will be impacted by the free agent addition of former Denver Broncos center Lloyd Cushenberry, ESPN's top-ranked free agent center.
Shoring up the offensive line is critical for a team like the Titans, as they had two quarterbacks among the most sacked per dropback last season. Ryan Tannehill was sacked on 12% of his dropbacks, the most in the NFL, and Levis tied fellow rookie Bryce Young for the third highest at 10%.
Pollard figures to help in the passing game along with second-year playmaker Tyjae Spears. That backfield tandem will allow Callahan to dial up passing plays regardless of who is in at running back, unlike the past when Henry split snaps with Spears. Pollard and Spears will both be options in the underneath passing game when defenses focus on stopping the deep throws.
Collectively, the Titans have positioned themselves to be a much better passing offense than last year's team that finished 29th in the NFL with only 180.4 passing yards per game, and they still will continue to address holes and depth in free agency and the draft in April, where they hold the No. 7 pick.