The Tennessee Titans’ priority this season is finding out if Will Levis is the franchise quarterback.
Whether you liked him coming out of college or not, nearly every metric suggests that Levis is in for a big season this year and there should be a lot of optimism in the Titans fan base right now.
While we all wait to see, the Titans coaches have to operate under the assumption that Levis is going to be the guy for them. If he is, then the offense should be the identity of this team.
However, just because the offense spearheads the identity forward, it doesn’t solve all of their issues. Remember, the last time the Titans offense was leading the charge was in 2020 and that was also the season where we saw one of the worst defenses in franchise history including a historically bad third-down defense.
The Titans only lost five games that season, and in those losses, they allowed an average of 34.6 points per game. That is horrific, and it is something that the Titans have to avoid repeating if/when the Brian Callahan offense takes off.
Heading into training camp, the Titans defense isn’t getting the respect it deserves.
Jeffery Simmons and Harold Landry are young Pro Bowlers whose best football should be ahead of them. Not to be outdone, the Titans created one of the best cornerback trios in the NFL when they combined the forces of L’Jarius Sneed, Chidobe Awuzie, and Roger McCreary.
The foundation is there. All new defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson needs is a few players to step up around Landry and Simmons. If they can’t, the Titans will find players that can next offseason.
We’ve identified the Titans defenders with the most on the line heading into training camp.
T’Vondre Sweat, DL
T’Vondre Sweat’s concerns have been well-documented at this point. His resume is littered with red flags that came to light during his complicated pre-draft process. The former Texas Longhorn will receive a clean slate at training camp.
After missing every OTA and minicamp practice except for one this summer, the responsibility is on Sweat to prove doubters wrong.
Having said that, he clearly has the upside to be an important player on the defense. He is a massive player and blockers can’t move him by themselves, so his sheer size alone demands double teams.
People have talked about his pass rushing upside, and you can see why. It is wishful thinking to believe that he will ever be someone who can consistently get pressure, but when he really wants to show up, he flashes short-area quickness and some interesting moves that he might be able to string together more often in the NFL.
If Sweat can get on the field, it’s hard to envision him being a complete bust because he makes life harder for offenses just by clogging his gaps. The question is just how often he will be able to get on the field and how much can he do for the Titans?
We will start to figure out the answers to those questions in training camp.
Jack Gibbens, LB
Is Jack Gibbens a starting-caliber linebacker? Mike Vrabel thought he was and Gibbens is halfway towards convincing Brian Callahan that he is as well.
Gibbens is always going to be someone who doesn’t have the quickness to cover guys in the middle of the field consistently, but he did some nice things last year when given a chance. Nothing special, but there were some fun plays in the mix.
As an inside-out run defender, Gibbens has potential to be a starter in the NFL in the right scheme. However, his trump card is his ability to diagnose plays and to understand what he is supposed to do as soon he recognizes the play.
The new Titans defense is predicated on chaos, so having a linebacker who can’t consistently cover for three or four seconds shouldn’t matter as much when the quarterback has a defensive back flying into the backfield and moving him off of his spot on third down.
If he can show more good than bad in the midst of the chaos of training camp, he might just lock down a starting job in 2024.
Arden Key, EDGE
Every defense Dennard Wilson has been a part of has had a way of elevating pass rushers. If that holds now that he is a DC, Jeffery Simmons and Harold Landry will benefit from that boost, but the player with the most untapped potential is Arden Key.
Whether he is on the practice field, in the locker room, or in the game, Key has an infectious energy and he can energize Wilson’s defense. However, his tangible production has room for improvement.
Key is going to play a lot of snaps for the Titans this season and will be in a position to prove that he is worth the contract that Ran Carthon gave him last offseason. However, he needs to show that he can hold up on early downs while still maintaining his burst when it is time to rush the passer.
If he can do that, it will give the Titans more options to be less predictable in what they are asking their front seven to do. That mystery is a crucial part of what Wilson wants to do on defense because when you bring pressure, it is infinitely more effective if the offense can’t tell where the pressure is coming from.
Rashad Weaver, Caleb Murphy, and Jaylen Harrell will be battling it out to figure out who the next EDGE off the bench is, but there is a dropoff in potential from Key to the rest of that group. The more Key can do, the better off the Titans are.
