Treylon Burks Needs to be a Star, but Kyle Philips May be the Key for Titans WR Group

The Tennessee Titans will need major contributions from their second-year wide receivers this season and while former first-rounder Treylon Burks is getting all the buzz, it might be former fifth-rounder Kyle Philips that can save the Titans' offense.

NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Titans will be looking to add talent at wide receiver as the summer continues, but even if they do make an addition, they will still need both of their second-year wide outs to play a major role in the offense. 

While the attention has mostly been on Treylon Burks, it may be Kyle Philips who is the key to the Titans offense hitting it's ceiling in 2023. Philips didn't do much in 2022 after being drafted in the fifth round out of UCLA, but he did show flashes of what he could bring to the table.

Philips had a fantastic debut with six catches for 66 yards in a Week 1 loss to the New York Giants. Philips is your prototypical slot receiver. He's quicker than fast, an agile route-runner and a reliable catcher of the football. He showed it all and even some punt returning skills in that game.

The problem is, Philips only caught two more passes the entire season and only played in three more games. His skillset is needed within the offense, but he needs to be on the field to be able to contribute. A good slot receiver is always nice to have, but the Titans face a specific challenge weekly that makes it a necessity.

#Titans WR Kyle Philips working the ladder pic.twitter.com/N2bxAJJfqF

— Kayla Anderson ✨ (@KaylaAndersonTV) June 14, 2023

Most defenses play a certain way against the Titans. You can probably attribute it all to Derrick Henry. Teams play with eight defenders "in the box" or close to the line of scrimmage. This can functionally limit what type of coverages teams can play to a degree.

From an alignment with eight men in the box and a three-man coverage shell, it's natural to play either Cover 3 or Cover 1(man with a deep safety) For the Titans, it usually means a strong diet of man coverage from the opposing defense.

Because of the amount of man coverage the Titans see, having a player who can consistently win against man, particularly on third downs, to help you keep the chains moving, is invaluable. The Titans were missing that for most of the year in 2022 due to injuries to Philips and Burks.

While Burks is obviously more important to the Titans, even if Burks does just as great as some expect, he alone may not be enough to lift up this Titans' offense from a receiver perspective. There must be a second man that wins, to win.

The Titans learned that lesson while having A.J. Brown as their leading wide out. If you only have one receiver who can win against man consistently, the defense can simply shadow the receiver with a help man and leave you no other option to throw to.

The Titans are trying to sign DeAndre Hopkins and clearly that would take some pressure off Philips, but there is no guarantee that happens. If it doesn't, the success of the Titans' offense could rest in the hands, and on the health, of Philips.

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