After hitting on Josh Gordon, Alshon Jeffery and Michael Floyd as "Making the Leap" candidates two seasons ago, we whiffed on Justin Hunter.
Hauling in just 28 catches for 498 yards in his second campaign, Hunter struggled to emerge as a playmaker before a spleen injury cost him the final four games of 2014. After watching the Titans remake their offense with the addition of quarterback Marcus Mariota and freaky wideout specimen Dorial Green-Beckham, the team's second-round pick, Hunter knows his job is on the line.
"He's another big guy like me, but he has more size on him," Hunter told the Tennessean on Wednesday. "Competition is going to bring out the best in us. Everybody is going to fight for a position, and when the season comes, it will be a good thing."
Hunter acknowledged that he and Green-Beckham are "probably going to be playing the same position." The better man is penciled in for a likely starting role across from Kendall Wright, with Harry Douglas assuming the slot.
Both young wideouts bring insane gifts to the table. After Greg Cosell of NFL Films touted Hunter as "the most physically talented" wideout of the 2014 draft, NFL Media's Mike Mayock called Green-Beckham a "freakish height-weight-speed guy" who "looks like a young Randy Moss."
NFL.com's pro comparison for Green-Beckham? None other than Hunter.Â
DGB gives the team a high-upside target, but his off-the-field issues at Missouri led one NFC personnel man to tell NFL Media's Lance Zierlein that the wideout "couldn't keep himself out of trouble, had no structure growing up and didn't take coaching at Missouri," adding: "He's tall and fast and has good hands, but he can't be trusted."
From another AFC coordinator: "We had him in for a visit and put him on the board and he was completely lost. Whoever takes him better have a plan for him because it could be rough early on."
The Titans, though, simply couldn't ignore Green-Beckham's talents. Titans general manager Ruston Webster called DGB a "first-round talent" before the draft, another reminder that they were sold on the pass-catcher long before last Thursday night. With so many jobs on the line in Tennessee, the Titans have shrugged off the safe route to swing for the fences. Hunter gets it.
"It's always (about competition) in the NFL," Hunter said. "Your spot can always be taken. Everywhere you go, everyone is fighting for a position. In the NFL, the only thing that changes is the name on the back of the jersey."
- The latest Around The NFL Podcast reacts to the most recent "Deflategate" news and discusses the current state of all 16 NFC teams. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.*
