NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Kendall Wright is just a couple weeks away from hitting the market. The Tennessee Titans first-round pick from 2012 is due for a change of scenery, and both sides have made it clear he's got no future in Tennessee.
In 2016, he was the team's slot receiver, lining up almost exclusively inside in the team's three-wide receiver sets, a personnel grouping the Titans used less frequently than all but two teams in the NFL.
With Wright frequently working underneath routes, prevailing wisdom would suggest a defense covering him might leave a bit of extra room elsewhere for other pass targets to work.
In playing around with ESPN Stats & Info's data base, I looked at what the Titans' top pass-catchers did with and without Wright on the field.
Down and distance didn't have a huge bearing on these numbers.
Of Wright's 294 snaps in 2016, 255 came in three-wide sets. But those were not predominantly on third down. Twenty-six percent were on first down, 32 percent were on second down and 28 percent were on third down.
It's surprising to me that only Murray fared better in the passing game with Wright on the field.
That Walker, Matthews and Sharpe averaged fewer yards with Wright on the field than without him isn't a huge thing, but I do think it says something about Wright, about the team's effectiveness out of three-wide and about how teams were able to defend the Titans in three-wide.
Tennessee ranked 17th in yards per catch when in three-wide (10.61) but ranked seventh with two receivers on the field (12.49).
What will the 2017 Titans look like in three wide? Will these numbers improve? I'm curious to see.