Last Year:

Record: 9-7

Offense: 23.8 (14th)

Defense: 23.6 (16th)

Offseason: 

Key Acquisitions: WR. Eric Decker, DT. Sylvester Williams, CB. Logan Ryan, S. Jonathan Cyprien,

Key Losses: WR. Kendall Wright, DT. Al Woods, CB. Jason McCourty

 Breakdown

Offense:

After going 5-27 in a two year span during the 2014 and 2015 seasons the Titans shocked a lot of people by going 9-7 last year. The biggest reason why was the dominant running game spearheaded by Demarco Murray, who the team traded for last offseason. Murray rushed for nearly 1,300 yards and had  nine TDs and his backup Derrick Henry had nearly 500 yards and five TDs. They have the potential to be the best running back duo in the NFL in 2017. Another reason why was the play of second year quarterback Marcus Mariota who is making big strides towards establishing himself as a franchise QB. He had a passer rating of 95.6 and threw 26 TDs to only 9 interceptions and did it all without having a dominant wide receiver. Mariota has elite speed at the QB position, a good enough arm, and is becoming more and more accurate as a passer. He will only continue to get better. Rishard Matthews came over from the Dolphins last season and ended up being the Titans best receiver. He lead the team in receptions, yards, and TDs and will be the team’s number one receiver again this year. The team selected Corey Davis with the fifth overall pick and he figures to be the other starting outside receiver. A lot of people thought that was too high to take him but since the Titans did it is clear they have the utmost confidence in his ability and are expecting him to come in and be an immediate difference maker. The team also picked up veteran Eric Decker who was cut by the Jets after an injury riddled season in their attempt to rebuild and tank. When healthy last season Decker played well and the year before he definitely played well and if he stays healthy will be a very good player for the Titans. The Titans are also loaded at the tight end position. Delanie Walker is still one of the best tight ends in the game at 32 offering both terrific receiving production and quality blocking which is why he is one of the best all-around players at his position. Competing for snaps opposite him in their two-tight packages will be Jace Amaro and their third round pick Jonnu Smith. Amaro has talent but just has been perpetually injured his entire career so it is unclear what to expect of him but Smith is an athletic young player with a ton of potential. The top rated offensive line in 2016 according to pro football focus was not the Dallas Cowboys but instead the Titans who dethroned the Cowboys after being on top the previous two seasons in a row. The Titans have an elite offensive line that is stacked from top to bottom. They have the best tackle tandem in the NFL in Taylor Lewan and Jack Conklin. Lewan might be the best run blocking left tackle in the NFL and Conklin was the best offensive lineman of all the rookies last season and should only get better. Ben Jones is the starting center. He came over from the Texans and was a stud in his first season with the Titans especially as a run blocker. The were weakest at guard yet still have one of the better guard duos in the league as well. Quinton Spain is the left guard who was a second year undrafted free agent who had a breakout season. At the other guard spot is Josh Kline who was a another newcomer from the Patriots who came in and played well. The Titans did not lose a single key contributor on offense from last season and on top of that they added some talented new players through the draft and one in free agency. Overall given the youth of the players on offense the Titans should be even better in 2017. Ultimately it will come down to just how good Marcus Mariota will be in his third season.

Defense:

The Titans also were much improved on defense last season and not only are they returning all of their main contributors they have also made some key new additions through free agency and the draft. The Titans appear to be strong on the defensive line. It all starts with defensive end Jurrell Casey who continues to play at an elite level. Opposite him Daquan Jones and Karl Klug rotate for reps. Jones is a massive man who was the team’s best run stopper a year ago and figures to play more on early downs. Klug can hold his own vs the run and is the much better pass rusher and figures to play more in nickel situations. They picked up Sylvester Williams from the Broncos in free agency to play nose tackle. Williams will not offer anything in terms of pass rush but should be solid in their base sets playing the run. The Titans are also pretty good at the edge linebacker positions. Brian Orakpo and Derrick Morgan combined for nearly 20 sacks and both are pretty good pass rushers. Neither are dominant vs the run however. At the middle linebacker positions Wesley Woodyard and Avery Williamson are the starters. They are one of the better duos in the league playing the run but both need to be better in coverage if the Titans defense is to take it up to next level. The Titans are loaded in the secondary thanks to two new high profile free agents and a first round pick. At corner the newcomers are Logan Ryan and Adoree Jackson. Ryan will be the team’s top corner and looks to help solidify a position that was a problem for the Titans last year. At the moment the 18th overall pick Jackson is not the starter but I imagine he will get his opportunity to beat LeShaun Sims out who has been working with the first team so far in camp. Unless Sims is somehow a lot better than he was last year Jackson should eventually be able to overtake him if he is as good as advertised. Brice McCain was the team’s best corner a year ago and will be the starting nickel corner. The Titans also have a pretty good group at safety. They picked up strong safety Johnathan Cyprien in free agency who was the top rated safety playing the run by pro football focus last season. He will be an immediate difference maker for this secondary. Next to him at free safety will be Kevin Byard, the team’s third round pick last year, who really played better than expected and solidified himself as starter going forward. Da’Norris Searcy is a starting caliber safety and is still on the team. He will be rotating in to some three safety packages and can play either safety spot if an injury happens.  Overall The Titans are not going to be an elite defense but I can definitely see them being a good one. They were middle of the pack last season and all they did was add better players while not losing any of the good players they already had on defense.