The Titans released Delanie Walker yesterday. He's been hurt a lot of the past two seasons, and he's 35 years old. The numbers when he's played indicate this might be the end for him, while Jonnu Smith might finally be ready to have a very good season.
Walker has played in a total of eight games over the last two seasons. Project those numbers out over 16 games, and he would still have finished with far fewer receptions and yards than he had in each of his four previous, healthy seasons with Tennessee. (18-19 numbers are projected over 16 games.)
| WALKER, YEAR BY YEAR (2014-) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | No | Yds | TD |
| 2014 | 63 | 890 | 4 |
| 2015 | 94 | 1,088 | 6 |
| 2016 | 65 | 800 | 7 |
| 2017 | 74 | 807 | 4 |
| 18-19 | 50 | 534 | 4 |
Jonnu Smith, entering his fourth season, should take over as the starter. Here are Smith's numbers in nine meaningful games after Walker got hurt last year, with totals and then projected out over a 16-game season.
| JONNU SMITH, 2019 GAME LOG | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Opp | No | Yds | TD |
| LAC | 3 | 64 | 0 |
| T.B. | 6 | 78 | 1 |
| at Car. | 3 | 18 | 0 |
| K.C. | 4 | 30 | 0 |
| Jac. | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| at Ind. | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| at Oak. | 3 | 29 | 1 |
| Hou. | 5 | 60 | 0 |
| N.O. | 3 | 63 | 1 |
| Tot | 29 | 342 | 3 |
| Proj | 52 | 608 | 5 |
Smith isn't Walker, and I don't think anyone can expect the kind of production of Walker at his best. Note that Smith turned in a donut against Jacksonville (he played nearly every snap that game), and wasn't much better against the Colts (2 catches for zero yards). The Titans also have Anthony Firkser, who was recently re-signed.
But with Walker gone, Smith has some potential to be a viable starter in fantasy leagues, just as he was in a lot of games the second half of last season.
With Walker, maybe he lands somewhere -- people will get all excited about him if he latches on with the Patriots, as a for instance. But at 35, it looks like he doesn't have much left.
--Andy Richardson