NASHVILLE, Tenn. – David Cobb's rookie season didn't play out like he hoped it would.
Now, the second-year Titans running back knows he's really on the spot, with some new, talented players surrounding him at the position.
"It is only natural to think about it,'' Cobb said. "The room changes and good guys come in like that, it raises the level of competition. It raises your focus. Every guy wants to play, but at the same time we have a good group that pushes everybody and everybody is supportive."
A fifth-round pick by the Titans in 2015, Cobb spent the first half of last season on injured reserve with a calf injury. During the second half of the year, he had limited success carrying the football. Cobb finished his rookie season with 146 yards on 52 carries (2.8-yard average) while appearing in seven games, with one start.
He left town in January with plans to come back and start in Year 2.
Then the Titans traded for veteran DeMarco Murray, and drafted Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry. In addition to Cobb, the team already had running backs Dexter McCluster, Antonio Andrews, Bishop Sankey and David Fluellen.
"You can't look left, you can't look right,'' Cobb said. "You have to worry about yourself and let the chips fall where they may and when your number is called you have to be ready."
Cobb, who ran for 2,829 yards and 20 touchdowns in his final two seasons at Minnesota, said he feels like he's in a better position to compete following an offseason when he got himself into better shape.
Cobb said he's also down seven pounds from a year ago.
"It helps a lot (to be able to have time to get healthy), especially when you have tissue injuries like me just to get some time off and let everything heal up and take a break from it and come back with a little motivation,'' Cobb said.
"Last year I didn't play as much or had the year that I wanted. I had high expectations for myself. But it's a new year, a fresh start and I have a lot to prove."
Cobb admits he's been impressed with Murray, the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year in 2014 while with the Cowboys, as well as Henry.
"He has a great presence,'' Cobb said of Murray. "DeMarco, the things he has done in his career. You can watch film and pick his brain and see what he sees on a couple of runs. And Derrick, a guy that is that big and can move like that, that's pretty amazing."
Cobb is going to have need a good offseason, and training camp, to be in the mix in 2016.
No one has to him it's a crowded position. All he has to do is look around.
"The biggest thing is (the new additions), it brings competition,'' Cobb said. "You go into the offseason thinking one thing and then you come back and it's a whole new environment. I just have to keep continuing to improve and show that you belong and show that you can play with anybody.
"I think for anybody, a competitor coming in and wanting a chance to start, and you see the moves like that, it doesn't demotivate you or anything like that. You are still motivated. But at the same time it puts a little chip on your shoulder and a guy like me who didn't play a lot last year, I have a lot to prove. You just want to come in every day and show that you belong."
Titans veterans and rookies take the field for Day 3 of OTAs at Saint Thomas Sports Park. (Photos: Gary Glenn)
