One of the biggest reasons the Tennessee Titans have won 23 regular-season games over the last two seasons has been the emergence of wide receiver AJ Brown.

The former Ole Miss star was selected in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Titans.

It's safe to say at this point that landing Brown in the second round is one of the biggest steals in NFL Draft history.

Brown's peripheral stats haven't been as impressive as young wide receivers like Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson, but those stats don't necessarily tell the whole story.

According to Pro Football Focus, Brown has had the most productive start to an NFL career that they've ever seen from a wide receiver.

PFF noted that Brown averages the most yards per route of any wide receiver over the first three years of a career.

Part of the reason Brown has been so successful is because he's one of the best route runners in the league.

"Brown is not only insanely productive, but he is also among the most complete receivers in the NFL — his route tree has no holes," wrote PFF's Brad Spielberger.

The third-year wide receiver was one of only 18 receivers in the NFL in 2021 to run each of the basic wide receiver routes more than 5% of the time.

Brown makes the offense better simply by being on the field.

From PFF:

Ryan Tannehill’s accuracy over expectation in 2021 was +6.5% when targeting the middle of the field between the numbers, but -2.2% when targeting a player outside the numbers. Unsurprisingly, the Titans’ passing efficiency plummeted to -0.06 EPA per pass play when A.J. Brown was off the field due to injuries and defenses weren’t as concerned about him attacking the sidelines. However, when he was on the field, the efficiency was an excellent 0.15 EPA per pass play, which would have been a top-10 passing offense in 2021.

Whether they keep Ryan Tannehill for an extended period or move to another starting quarterback in the near future, A.J. Brown is the most important piece of their offense. The Titans should start contract talks sooner rather than later.

Players from the 2019 NFL Draft will be eligible to sign extensions this offseason.

Brown is obviously a player that Tennessee needs in Nashville for a long time. And he's not going to get any cheaper — they need to get an extension worked out this offseason to lock him down for the foreseeable future.

PFF is projecting a four-year extension worth $80 million ($20 million per year) for Brown.

$20 million per year would place Brown among the top five highest-paid wide receivers in the NFL in terms of AAV (average annual value).

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins currently tops the list at just over $27 million. Titans wide receiver Julio Jones is No. 2 on the list at $22 million.

Brown clearly deserves it. Whatever it takes to extend him is what the Titans need to offer.

Featured image via Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports