Even though A.J. Brown may be well on his way to the throne, Nate Washington is still one of the best wide receivers the Tennessee Titans have ever had. I caught a bit of flack for putting him at #2 in Titans wide receiving history a couple years ago. But, I stand by it. That dude managed to stack 1,000-yard seasons on some of the worst Titans teams the franchise had seen. He always seemed to be making plays.
Which brings us to this clip I saw floating along the timeline a little while ago. Case in point:
Rewind: Nate Washington makes incredible grab to catch pass thrown by QB Vince Young vs the Cowboys in 2010. #Titans #TitanUp #rewind pic.twitter.com/TyGquWtcyb
— Titans District (@titans_district) March 15, 2020
Just an absolute BOMB from Vince Young. #85 goes up and gets it in the end zone, over TWO Cowboys defenders that were in pretty decent position to make the stop. But, Big Nate wasn’t going to be denied on that play, and that catch was the perfect example of the spirit with which this man played.
Washington caught 307 passes for 4,591 and 28 touchdowns during his six seasons with the Titans. He was the team’s leading receiver in 2011 and 2012…but man, looking back at the potential that he and Kenny Britt had together in 2009 and 2010…it’s sick. I’m happy for Britt for going on and becoming a consistent receiver in the NFL. But, there were flashes early on in his career when he looked like the second coming of Randy Moss. Who knows? Maybe in a different offense with a little more steady of a quarterback situation, Britt and Washington could have burned the entire league to the ground. Washington retired from the NFL after spending the 2015 season with the Houston Texans.
Bottom line: Washington deserves to be considered one of the best receivers in Titans history. Dude was an absolute rock on offense.
On a side note, man – VY catches too much shit from Titans fans. I guess that’s the cost of coming into the league with expectations to the moon. He was a truly historic college quarterback at Texas, and all eyes were on him after the Longhorns came back to win that National Championship – not to mention, he came to Nashville, where he was following in the footsteps of an all-time great in Steve McNair. So, the fact that he didn’t win any League MVPs and didn’t take the Titans to the Super Bowl seems like a disappointment to a lot of people.
But, the dude was still Rookie of the Year, went to a couple of Pro Bowls, took the Titans to the playoffs in his second season, and made some electric plays.
Two Titans of a bygone era that I don’t feel like we appreciate enough.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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