Opinion
The Titans looked to the future during the draft, trading their best wide receiver for a rookie and taking Ryan Tannehill’s potential replacement, so what does that mean for the now?
Strength
When looking for a strength of the Titans, you only have to look back to their divisional round playoff loss to Cincinnati. They had a ridiculous nine sacks that game and it symbolised their season. Harold Landry had a breakout season with 12 sacks, Jeffery Simmons was a menace and Denico Autry had a career year at age 31 with nine sacks. The pass rush is going to be fierce again with all three returning and should help this secondary produce.
Weakness
Just like the strength, the Titans’ weakness was evident in the playoff loss and that was turnovers. Ryan Tannehill threw three bad interceptions, undoing all of the defence’s great work on the other side of the ball. This wasn’t a one-off though, the Titans had six games last season with three or more turnovers, losing five of them. With the loss of both his starting wide receivers over the off-season, Tannehill is going to have to be extremely careful with the ball.
Player to watch
Caleb Farley was a projected top-five pick in the 2021 draft before reports came out he required back surgery. The Titans took the chance and picked him at 22 and just as he was getting up to speed, tore his ACL. He has come out recently and declared he is physically ready for the start of the upcoming season. He is an awesome talent and if he can stay healthy, he is a breakout player to watch.
Who’s under pressure?
Tannehill crumbled on the playoff stage last season, throwing those three interceptions mentioned earlier, and the Titans reacted by taking Malik Willis in the draft. Willis is not ready to be a starting quarterback, however the message is clear: Tannehill is on thin ice and if he can’t produce this season, there could be big changes in Tennessee this time next year!
Projection
The theme of the offseason so far has been AFC teams getting significantly better. Like the Patriots, the Titans are one of the few teams that went the opposite way. Tannehill has gone from throwing to Julio Jones and AJ Brown to now Robert Woods coming off ACL surgery and rookie Treylon Burks, who is already struggling with injury. Mix in the fact Derrick Henry’s body broke down last season and will struggle to carry this offence like usual and Tennessee miss the playoffs.
Win-loss: 7-10
Hey, supercoach? Choose your own ultimate NFL team and compete with other players for cash prizes in daily competitions on any match. If you’re after the best odds on the NFL, PlayUp is your best bet. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
The extraordinary episodes after his life as an American Football hero quite overshadowed the career of O.J. Simpson, who has died at the age…
The Kansas City Chiefs, steered brilliamtly at the end by star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, downed the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime to secure…
San Francisco 49ers will make their eighth appearance in the Super Bowl after a stellar season from a team stacked with real talent across the whole line-up.
The Chiefs are no longer strangers to playing matches in February. What was once a multi-generational 50-year drought has become an almost yearly tradition.
Daniel Faalele and Mitch Wishnowsky have kept their Super Bowl dreams alive, with Baltimore and San Francisco winning the divisional round playoff.
Six-time NFL champion Bill Belichick has agreed to part ways as the coach of the New England Patriots, bringing an end to his 24-year…
