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          Heading into a contract year, Titans' Corey Davis aims to 'do numbers'

          • Turron Davenport, ESPNSep 5, 2020, 06:00 AM ET
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              Turron Davenport covers the Tennessee Titans for ESPN. Turron is a former collegiate football player at Cheyney University and is a native of Philadelphia, and he has authored/co-authored four books. You can catch Turron on ESPN Radio on his show "Talking with TD" and you can follow him on Twitter: @TDavenport_NFL.
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          NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Titans were down by three points with 5 seconds left on the clock in overtime when Corey Davis stepped up.

          In that 2018 Week 4 game against the Philadelphia Eagles, quarterback Marcus Mariota lined up in shotgun, looked to his left and saw the matchup that he wanted, then lofted the ball into the end zone. Davis jumped and outmuscled Eagles rookie Avonte Maddox for the game-winning touchdown.

          The fans at Nissan Stadium went wild. This was what they were expecting from Davis, the No. 5 pick in the 2017 draft. It capped a career day for Davis, who finished with nine receptions for 161 yards.

          Three seasons ago, Davis was viewed as an integral part of the Titans becoming an explosive passing offense. Now, he's entering a critical year that could potentially be his last in Tennessee after the team declined to pick up his fifth-year option. Davis made it clear that he is looking for a big season in 2020.

          "I’m trying to do numbers this year," Davis said. "Definitely a lot more hungry."

          Statistically, Davis hasn't posted the numbers that match his draft status. But the Titans staff know the talent is there.

          "You look at his size, his play strength, his toughness. He's willing to play in high-traffic areas," Titans wide receivers coach Rob Moore said. "You can do a lot of different things with Corey because of his size and ability to run. He brings a lot of attributes to the table."

          Davis' best season was 2018 -- the only year when he played all 16 games -- when he had 65 catches for 891 yards and four touchdowns. The top example of Davis' playmaking ability came during Week 9 of that season against the New England Patriots, when Davis posted seven receptions for 125 yards and a touchdown despite being guarded primarily by one of the NFL's best cover corners, Stephon Gilmore.

          So, what gives -- why hasn't Davis produced more? The biggest area where Davis needs to improve is consistency, which manifests itself in a variety of ways. There's a lot that goes into it, and coaches are always preaching about it.

          Coach Mike Vrabel takes time to work on specific things with each player. Here's how he described what he worked on with Davis recently during what he called a "ball disruption period" in practice:

          We try to coach and teach the fundamentals of the game, going out and attacking the football. When you do that, you bring it in. Those DBs are practicing trying to disrupt it and punch it out. The focal point was making sure that when we catch the ball out in front of our body, but also being strong to the tuck, so it's not over until we've secured it, just continuing to understand the details.

          When the question is how Davis can become a more consistent player, the answer is frequently "details."

          "The route running, specifically at the end of the game. That's something that we've tried to work on," Davis said. "Just being great when you're tired and try to fight through that fatigue. There were certain plays where I let fatigue get the best of me."

          Added Vrabel: "I think for Corey [Davis] and a lot of players and even coaches, it's understanding the detail of the play that's going to change each snap based on what the other team does and their coverage. Is it man? Is it zone? How do we want to convert routes and continue to understand how the quarterback is thinking in those situations?"

          The Titans scored 16.3 points per game (ranked 28th) in the six games Mariota started last season. In the other 10, under Ryan Tannehill, the Titans scored 30.4 PPG (ranked third). However, Davis scored only one touchdown on a pass from Tannehill in that 10-game stretch.

          Tannehill admittedly didn't connect with Davis enough last season. He plans to do so more in 2020.

          "I definitely think my chemistry will grow with Corey this year. I think that he’s such a talented guy and has so much to bring to the table," Tannehill said.

          The mental part of the game is equally important. Davis is adopting a different outlook in training camp this year.

          He doesn't want to "beat himself up over the last play." Davis acknowledged that he was too hard on himself at times, struggling to let a bad play stay in the past. Carrying a bad rep over to the next play is never good, but for a player who averaged only 5.7 targets per regular-season game over a three-year career, it's particularly bad.

          The emergence of 2019 rookie A.J. Brown (52 receptions, 1,051 yards, 8 TDs) likely cut into Davis' targets. But Davis' approach is to make the most of whatever targets come his way.

          "A.J. is going to get a lot of attention with the year he had last year, so whenever my number is called, I've got to go make it happen," Davis said.

          After having offseason surgery to repair a turf-toe injury that limited him last year, Davis is looking forward to staying healthy and being more productive than ever. Being vocal about wanting to "do numbers" is a change from the typical "take it as it goes" approach that Davis used to point to when asked about his production. There is plenty on the line for him.

          "I'm not really focusing on the contracts, nothing," Davis said. "I'm just going to go out there and play football and handle my business, and everything will take care of itself."