Unconventional Wright gets it done

The Titans’ Kendall Wright has proven to be one of the league’s most dependable wide receivers, as he leads the NFL with 25 third-down catches this year.

But he doesn’t always do things according to the book.

In fact, Titans quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick described Wright’s style as “street-ballish” – using the term in the most complimentary fashion.

“He’s hard to cover because he’s kind of freewheeling out there a little bit,” Fitzpatrick said. “That can screw you up a little bit as a quarterback, but kind of the feel I have for him — and maybe some of it is my background with (Buffalo’s) Stevie Johnson – is that Kendall is the type of receiver you need to give some freedom. That’s when he’s at his best and that’s what he’s been at his best doing this year.”

Titans offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains agrees with Fitzpatrick’s assessment, comparing Wright to Denver’s Wes Welker in terms of his ability to get open by whatever means possible.

“The thing Kendall knows is where he needs to be and how deep he needs to be, and he knows at what point Ryan is expecting him to be there,” Loggains said. “How he gets there … you can’t put the kid in a box because you take away some of his creativity.”

Loggains says he’s given Wright unprecedented leeway in terms of not running routes precisely by the numbers.

“He’d be the only guy on this team that has that option,” Loggains said. “He’s the only guy I’ve ever been a part of on a football team – on any coaching staff I’ve ever been on — that has had that freedom to get where he needs to get.”

It turns out Wright is pretty tricky after he catches the ball as well.

Wright ranks third among all NFL wide receivers with 448 yards after the catch, trailing only Denver’s Demaryius Thomas (527) and Washington’s Pierre Garcon (450) in that department. His 448 yards after the catch are already more than any Titans/Oilers wide receiver has posted in an entire season since 1992, when that stat was first tracked.

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Posted In: Team News

Source: Titans Insider