Undersized Slot Receiver Adam Humphries Goes Long-Term With The Tennessee Titans 2019 - Odds & Predictions

Adam Humphries’ story is another one of those ‘too small for the NFL’ tales that will inspire anyone with a dream supposedly too big for their own body.

This underrated young slot receiver and punt returner isn’t tiny, just undersized for the NFL, but despite that, Humphries has somehow managed to carve himself out a couple of specialty niches and for over four seasons has been a valuable part of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Now the Tennessee Titans have made Humphries’ financial dreams come true and offered him the long-term deal he’s been hoping for, and we take a look at his lucrative trip to the AFC South as well as the odds and predictions of his 2019 season output.

Quick Bio: who is Adam Humphries?

Adam Humphries is the 25-year-old NFL wide receiver who was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina in 1993 and played his high school football at Dorman High School where he also played varsity basketball.

During his senior football season, the 5-foot-11 Humphries played mostly defensive back and registered 46 tackles with 5 interceptions, including the game clinching interception in the state championship game victory over rival Byrnes High School. 

After drawing interest from Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, LSU and Furman, Humphries accepted his only offer, which was from Clemson to play wide receiver.

Was Humphries productive at Clemson?

Yes, because he filled the roles of receiver and punt returner, a dual threat that would serve him equally well later at the professional level.

As a slot receiver who caught shorter passes during situational downs, Humphries’ stats at Clemson weren’t necessarily flashy, but in four years he caught 127 balls for 1,097 yards and 3 touchdowns, averaging 8.6 yards per reception.

Humphries also carried the ball for Clemson ten times for 24 yards and a touchdown as well as handling 69 punt returns for 476 yards and one touchdown, averaging 6.9 yards per return.

Predicted to go undrafted, Humphries was not invited to the 2015 NFL Scouting Combine but at the Clemson Pro Day he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.53 seconds, had a 32.5 inch vertical jump and a 10-foot-2 inch broad jump.

When was Humphries drafted into the NFL?

As predicted, Humphries went undrafted in 2015 but he accepted an invitation to attend the Tampa Bay Buccaneer minicamp for a tryout and impressed the coaches.

Humphries then agreed to a three-year, $1.57 million contract with a signing bonus of $19, 800 and competed to be the fifth receiver on the Bucs’ roster.

The fact that Humphries could return punts definitely helped him stand out and he made the 53-man roster as the punt/kick returner and the fifth receiver behind four established veterans, Vincent Jackson, Mike Evans, Louis Murphy and Russell Shepard.

How productive was Humphries as a Buc receiver?

Slot receivers are the workhorses of the offensive air attack and Humphries did his fair share of hard work, especially in key yardage situations.

In four seasons with Tampa Bay, Humphries caught 219-of-311 targets for 2,329 yards and 9 touchdowns

Last season was Humphries’ career best, and after he caught 76 balls for 816 yards and 5 touchdowns he was ranked as the 16^th most productive wide receiver in the NFL, tied with T.Y. Hilton of the Indianapolis Colts and Tyler Boyd of the Cincinnati Bengals.

What are Humphries’ strengths and weaknesses?

By specializing as a slot receiver and developing kick-returning skills, Humphries has made himself a valuable asset on any roster, especially given what a highly motivated and determined athlete he is with a high football IQ, eternally focused on being technically proficient on field.

Being 5-foot-11 and only 195-pounds is considered small for a receiver, and Humphries struggles with extending plays after his catches and his smaller stature makes it more difficult for him to block.

But Humphries is well liked and establishes good rapport with his quarterbacks and apparently has no need to make a big deal out of his o field accomplishments, which all in all makes him an ideal teammate.

Why did Tampa Bay let Humphries go?

The Buccaneers are currently experiencing cap space issues and just couldn’t afford to keep Humphries on the roster.

Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht knew that Humphries the free agent was hoping for a $6-8 million per year deal and that didn’t fit into his 2019 financial plans.

Now the Bucs will have to fill the void left by Humphries departure by either snagging a bargain in free agency or by hiring inexpensive younger talent using the upcoming NFL draft.

What did the Titans offer Humphries?

After an apparent bidding war with the New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson made Humphries an offer that blew his mind enough to close the deal.

They settled on a four-year, $36 million contract that includes a $10 million signing bonus and $19 million guaranteed.

Humphries will now pull in an average annual salary of $9 million until the year 2023, when he will become an unrestricted free agent at the age of twenty-nine.

What does Humphries add to the Titans?

Besides giving them a reliable kick returner, Humphries gives the Titans something they lacked last season, which is a reliable third-down target.

Humphries former quarterback Jameis Winston calls Humphries a “third down machine,” so he seems to fill the Titans’ needs perfectly.

Last season, Humphries was targeted 28 times on third down, grabbing 19 of those passes for 14 first downs, and that 50-percent conversion rate beats the Bucs’ 40-percent average by enough to make him a huge offensive factor.

What is Humphries’ nickname?

At this point, Humphries doesn’t seem to have a nickname.

Although one Reddit user had a suggestion: Buzz.

The reason? He had seen astronaut Buzz Aldrin at a Buccaneers home game wearing a number 11 jersey, so it seems legit.

What does Humphries’ 2019 output potential look like?

Over the past two seasons, Humphries’ catch percentage was 72.9, which put him ninth among NFL receivers for consistency.

Assuming Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota and Humphries develop the same kind of chemistry that seems to follow Humphries around wherever he plays, he looks good to be a productive part of Tennessee’s air attack.

The more seasons Humphries plays, the better his numbers keep getting, so if he doesn’t at least match or do better than his 2018 output then some fans may start to doubt if he was worth all of that money he just received.

What are the current odds and predictions on Humphries 2019 production totals?

Being a slot receiver  on a team starving for third-down conversions seems like a match made in heaven, but having to learn another playbook and the routes and build chemistry with a brand new quarterback could be a distraction.

Humphries’ main stats from last season – 816 total passing yards and 5 touchdowns – could make the overs listed below seem extremely tempting.

But keep in mind that in four seasons, Humphries only averaged 582 yards and 2.25 touchdowns per season, which makes the under listed seem pretty generous.

As we like to say, don’t bet what you don’t have, but if you are in the mood to gamble some money on this small but powerful slot receiver, here are the current Adam Humphries odds listed for 2019.

Good luck!

Caveat: Humphries must play in game one for action to commence.

Adam Humphries total receiving yards in the 2019 Regular Season

• Over 750.5 Yards                               -115
• Under 750.5 Yards                             -115

Adam Humphries total touchdown in the 2019 Regular Season

• Over 4 Touchdowns                           -115
• Under 4 Touchdowns                         -115