After a disappointing season with the Indianapolis Colts, Hakeem Nicks is making the rounds of NFL visits and it seems he’s going to end up signing for either the San Francisco 49ers or the Tennessee Titans.
Both options don’t promise a whole lot, but Nicks is visiting with the Titans, a team that’s not too sure what their quarterback situation is going to be. They can draft Marcus Mariota (or Jameis Winston if he falls to number two) but there are rumors suggesting Ken Whisenhunt already has his man, which happens to be Zach Mettenberger.
And whoever the quarterback is going to be, he’s going to need a lot of help. The Titans were ranked in the bottom third of the NFL in almost every passing category, and didn’t have anyone with over 900 yards in receptions. Nicks has two 1000-yard seasons in his past, but can he reach that level again?
Nicks, a Super Bowl champion with the Giants in 2011, caught a career low 68 passes last season on the Colts, resulting in a career low 405 yards. The injuries of 2012 seem to have caught up with him, and the Giants knew what they were doing when they chose to give Victor Cruz the big money (also injured now) and not Nicks, who hasn’t been over 896 since 2012. In 2013 he didn’t catch a single touchdown.
The 49ers also have their problems in the passing game, some of it because of the quality of wide receivers, but it also has something to do with Colin Kaepernick himself and the playcalling on offense last season.
Nicks is not a number one wide receiver he was for the Giants for a very short time, but as a second and third option, especially if his financial demands aren’t too great (and anyone who is still available in April usually doesn’t have too big of a demand), he might be a bargain.
With the draft in just over two weeks, regardless of who feels more strongly about Nicks, it’s more likely the 27-year old out of North Carolina will get a deal after the draft and not before it, especially if it’s with the 49ers, who seem to have put signing on halt.