WR Titus Young, Detroit Lions

HT: 5-10, WT: 174, Born: 8-21-1989, College: Boise State, Drafted: Round 2

2013 Projections

Latest News

NFL | Three more charges for Titus Young (Fri May 24, 09:30 PM) - Free-agent WR Titus Young (Rams), who has been jailed since May 11, learned in court Friday, May 24, that he would be charged with three new counts, bringing his total to 11. The exact nature of the counts was not available immediately, because they had not been filed yet.

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2013 Schedule

2012 Game Summaries

Week 1 - Titus Young received very little attention from Stafford on Sunday. Stafford threw the ball a lot but focused on bigger targets like this TE’s and Calvin Johnson, rather than firing deep to WR Young which is his strength on the football field. Young got an end around rushing attempt which he managed to convert into a first down and also a tightly contested grab over the middle of the defense for another chunk of yards but was never able to get behind the defense for a big gain, in part because he was basically benched after getting a personal foul following Stafford's pick six to Cortland Finnegan. Before that, he was also a non factor in the redzone due to his short comings in size and Stafford will almost always favor his bigger weapons.

Week 2 - Titus Young looked very raw and made a lot of rookie-like mistakes on Sunday in a game where the Lions struggled to produce any offense. Young’s best contribution to the game came early in the game as he was able to draw a pass interference penalty on a deep route but he only came away with one catch in the game. QB Stafford tried to find Young deep down the middle on a post pattern but Young appeared to give up halfway through the play and not realise the ball had been thrown his way. Young also had a shot at a touchdown late in the game but he pushed a 49ers DB in the back, drawing pass interference on himself and dropped the ball anyway on the ground. The entire Lions offense was completely out of synch and in chaos caused by the San Francisco defense but Young failed to capitalize on the few plays he was involved in.

Week 3 - Titus Young returned to fantasy relevance against the Titans. Catching 6 passes for 75 yards and a touchdown, Young did most of his damage in the second half. Young was the recipient of the “Hail Mary” pass at the end of regulation and showed the savvy to be ready for the catch once the pass was batted down. Burleson made the catch and promptly jumped in the end zone for the score.

Week 4 - After a preseason of promise, Young has largely been non-existent. He’s on the field on 86% of the snaps, but isn’t being targeted because he is very well covered. They did try to get him the ball in other ways, such as on a reverse in the third quarter which he took for five yards. It was sort of scary to watch as Young carried the ball very loose and is lucky nobody tried to bat it out of his hands. However much of his day went like the next target he got, where the ball got to him and he couldn’t hang on as corner back Chris Cook batted it out of his hands. Young is being very inconsistent with his routes and not hanging onto the ball and one wonders if he will be phased out as rookie Ryan Broyles knocks the rust off his game.

Week 6 - The Lions tried to get Titus Young involved in this game, but he finished the game with just two receptions for six yards. Stafford went to him on a deep crossing route in the second quarter, but Young dropped the pass. Stafford also looked to Young on a short crossing route two plays later, but Young wasn’t looking back for the ball yet and Stafford moved on throwing the ball to Nate Burleson. Just before half-time, Stafford was under pressure and rolled out to avoid the sack. He flipped the ball to Young who was open, but the pass was too high and it fell incomplete. Young didn’t see action again until there was just five minutes left in the game. Stafford opened that critical drive with a side-arm pass to Young on a short crossing route where he was tackled immediately for only a gain of 3. After they scored and got the ball back, Stafford again checked-down to Young for a short three yard gain. Stafford looked to him two plays later, but the ball was thrown too far out in front of Young on a sideline route and it fell incomplete.

Week 7 - When Matthew Stafford wasn’t trying to force the ball into Calvin Johnson, he was looking for Titus Young as a second option. Young responded with his best game of the season, posting six catches for 81 yards, including three big first down catches in the fourth quarter. With less than seven minutes to play, Stafford was flushed out of the pocket and hit Young on a comeback for just five yards. It was a great play by Young though and he laid out to make a nice grab. A few plays later, Stafford was in trouble again and he found Young down the left side of the field in a soft spot for a big 19 yard gain and a first down. That drive eventually died at the goal line though, and the Lions came away with nothing after their third red zone turnover. On the next drive though, Young had two big catches for 21 and 23 yards on back to back plays. Broyles scored two plays later to give the Lions a small chance to make a dramatic comeback. Going forward, with Burleson done for the season, Young should see increased action as the #2 guy.

Week 8 - After much hoopla and excitement coming out of camp, Young finally lived up to the much-hyped expectations. Young led the team in every statistical category, receiving (and catching all) nine targets, including two TDs. After getting involved early, catching two balls on the Lions’ first drive, it was Young who was able to get behind Richard “Optimus Prime” Sherman and Earl Thomas on his 46-yard TD pass. There didn’t appear to be anything special about the route as Young merely used his speed to run past Sherman. Thomas, who was the over the top help, didn’t react quickly enough. Despite the coverage on Young, both appeared to expect the 3rd down play to go to Johnson and paid little attention to Young. Young’s best catch came on the opening drive of the 2nd half. Running an out, and with his QB in trouble and scrambling, Young was forced to lie out whilst exhibiting full extension to bring the low throw in. It was a great (and perhaps most importantly, confident) catch, converting a 3rd down and extending the drive. Young has struggled at times with his hands, making the catch all the more impressive. Having earned the trust of Stafford, Young was targeted three times on the game winning drive, including back-to-back throws. Later, it was Young who was targeted from the goal line, again making a nice contested catch for the one-yard TD grab. With Johnson getting all the attention, Young easily worked inside the coverage on the quick slant.

Week 9 - Young was a disappointment, dropping a sure touchdown after a crisp post corner route in the 4th quarter. He saw some action in the short passing game, but was behind Ryan Broyles in targets.

Week 10 - Young's first target was an overthrow from Stafford on second and long. Young's first reception came late in the first quarter on first and 5. He ran a quick curl route against off coverage but did well to spin away from the defender to gain forward momentum and a first down. Young came back again two plays later with an impressive grab over the middle between two defenders for a first down. After Calvin Johnson did all the work to get the Lions to the one yard line in the fourth quarter, Titus Young ran an excellent route to catch an easy touchdown pass at the goalline. Young came back with another reception for a first down late in the fourth quarter when he ran a slant against zone defense.

Week 11 - Young’s first target on the second drive of the game was a quick slant that he got his hands around, but the defender was there and broke up the play. Stafford looked to get Young the ball later in the quarter, but he was covered, and Stafford pulled the ball down and was sacked. Near the end of the first half, Stafford tried to side-arm a play action pass into Young but it was a bad throw and the Packers picked it off. It was Stafford’s first pick of the day. In the third quarter, Young was flagged for a false start on 3rd and 5, and on the next play the Packers jumped offside. Stafford lofted the ball to Young, but he was flagged for pass interference and the penalties offset. Stafford threw his second interception on the next play and it was returned for a TD. Young’s only catch came late in the 4th quarter – a nice 24 yard strike down the left sideline when the Lions were looking to add to their three point lead. It gave the Lions 1st and goal and looked like it would put the game away. On 3rd and goal, Stafford tried to hit Young over the middle, but the defender pushed Young down and wasn’t called for the pass interference. Young was targeted twice more in the quarter but the first pass was underthrown and the second one was broken up.