The Tennessee Titans missed the playoffs by the skin of their teeth this past season, losing a winner-take-all game to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 17 and finishing with a record of 9-7.

Entering 2019, it still seems pretty clear that the Titans are the third-best team in the AFC South behind the Colts and the Houston Texans, so making the playoffs will be a tall order.

Still, Tennessee certainly has the talent to contend for a postseason berth.

Here are three players who need to take the next step in order for the Titans to get over the hump in 2019:

3. Taywan Taylor, Wide Receiver

The Titans don't exactly have a great aerial attack, but there is some potential for it to improve significantly this coming season. If that is going to occur, Taywan Taylor needs to elevate his game.

Now, the good news for Taylor is that he will likely be the No. 3 receive for Tennessee in 2019, so there won't be a whole lot of pressure on him. But, that doesn't mean he doesn't need to produce.

Taylor, who was drafted by the Titans in the third round in 2017, showed some marked improvement during his second season, catching 37 passes for 466 yards and a touchdown.

Yes, Corey Davis and Adam Humphries will be the top two receivers in 2019, but Taylor needs to become more of a threat as the No. 3 guy to really open up Tennessee's offense.

2. Corey Davis, Wide Receiver

Sticking with the theme of wide receivers, let's jump to Davis, who is the Titans' clear-cut No. 1 and had an under-the-radar terrific season in 2018, hauling in 65 receptions for 891 yards and four scores in spite of a shaky quarterback situation.

However, as good as Davis was this past year, he needs to be even better in 2019.

As the top target in the passing game, Davis should be finishing with over 1,000 yards if Tennessee wants to reach its full potential offensively. The good news is that Davis has the ability to do that, which is why the Titans took him with the fifth overall pick in 2017.

The 24-year-old shook off a disappointing rookie campaign with a big year in 2018, but this coming season could represent a breakout campaign for the former Western Michigan standout.

And if the Titans want to have any chance of reaching the playoffs, Davis must elevate his game.

1. Marcus Mariota, Quarterback

This is probably the easiest answer of just about any team in the NFL.

Marcus Mariota's career got off to a great start, as he had an impressive rookie campaign in 2015 and followed that up by throwing 26 touchdowns and just nine interceptions in 2016.

But, since then, things have gone downhill for Mariota, and fast.

Sure, injuries have played a role, and we can't discount that, but we also can't ignore the fact that Mariota simply has not been very good, as evidenced by the fact that he has thrown 24 touchdowns and 23 picks over the last two years combined.

The 25-year-old obviously needs to take better care of the football and be more prudent with this throws, and to be perfectly honest, he is running out of chances.

This will be Mariota's fifth year in the NFL. If he doesn't do it in 2019, the Titans may need to start looking elsewhere for a quarterback.