5. There are concerns outside at receiver and corner
One big concern I have for this team is the perimeter players – I’m talking the outside wide receivers and the outside corners. Tyler Byrd can be a really good slot receiver and Rashaan Gaulden can be a really good nickel. But the Vols are short on players to play out wide on both sides of the ball.
Jennings will obviously be a big part of the answer on offense. And there’s zero reason to question his competitiveness or his big-play capability. But can he be a consistent No. 1 threat at receiver? He had Josh Malone to open up opportunities for him last year, and while he made some historically-big plays, Jennings only averaged 3.1 catches per game. And outside of them, I’m just not sure who else will step up at receiver. There’s some talent and some options, but new receiver coach Kevin Beard has a big job in front of him.
Defensively, Emmanuel Moseley can be penciled in at one of those starting outside corner spots, but is he a true No. 1? That’s tough to say at this point. Baylen Buchanan and Justin Martin both need to step up this spring and offseason and UT needs at least one of the newcomers over the summer to push to be in the two-deep as well. With the effectiveness of the pass rush also in question, the corners could be put on an island for long periods of times. The veteran safeties should help, but the Vols need to see big gains at this spot over the offseason or they’ll be challenged vertically again in 2017.
