The Around The League gang has pegged Titans wide receiver Justin Hunter as one of our "Making the Leap" candidates, but he isn't the only Tennessee pass-catcher planning for a breakout year.
"I've got to get better,"Â tight end Delanie Walker said, per the team's official website. "I'm looking to catch 80 balls this year."
After signing with the Titans last offseason, Walker was second on the team with 60 grabs. He's a solid bet to repeat that production under new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who helped Antonio Gates to 77 receptions last season after the San Diego tight end caught 49, 64 and 50 grabs, respectively, over his three previous campaigns.
"He's a player's coach," Walker said. "He takes care of us. When he tells us something he means it. Plus he used to be a tight end so what's better than that?"
Crossing the 80-grab barrier would put Walker in a club that included just Jimmy Graham (86), Tony Gonzalez (83) and Jordan Cameron (80) in 2013. Walker saw only 79 targets last season, per Pro Football Focus. His 75.9 catch percentage was the highest among that site's top 15 tight ends, but Walker wasn't used in space in the same fashion as some of the game's emerging wideout/tight end hybrids.
On a team with so few overt difference-makers, Walker is a candidate for a bigger role, but a monster season is iffy unless Tennessee's quarterback situation pans out.
The latest "Around The League Podcast" debates Jay Cutler's ceiling and looks back at the NFL in the '90s.
