Sacks: 43
It was never more apparent that the Titans didn’t have the kind of pass-rush to go all the way than in the AFC Championship Game loss to the Kansas City Chiefs where Patrick Mahomes carved up Tennessee’s defense.
After finishing 13th in sacks in 2019, the Titans added outside linebacker Vic Beasley in the hopes that he could help take some pressure off the team’s best pass-rusher, Harold Landry, en route to improving the pass-rush.
Aside from Beasley, the Titans have a promising group of outside linebackers that includes Kamalei Correa, who totaled six sacks in the team’s last eight games (including playoffs), Derick Roberson, who had three sacks in the last two regular season games, and a wild card in 2019 fifth-round pick, D’Andre Walker.
The elephant in the room right now is the Titans’ ongoing pursuit of Jadeveon Clowney. While we have no clue where Clowney will ultimately land, there’s no question he’d be a signing that takes the Titans’ pass-rush — and defense as a whole — to the next level.
The Titans’ issues in the pass-rush didn’t just stop at the outside linebackers, though.
The defensive line didn’t do a great job with getting to the quarterback, as 9.5 of the team’s 43 sacks came from the big guys upfront, and five of those sacks were from Jurrell Casey, who is no longer with the team.
Of course, a full season with Jeffery Simmons should help replace some of Casey’s production, but the Titans still need to figure out who will be playing the majority of pass-rush snaps alongside Simmons and DaQuan Jones.