Category: Titans training camp

See it: Titans rookies report to training camp, get tested

Here’s a look at some new faces reporting to the team, following the protocols set in place to avoid further spread of COVID-19.

The outlook for the 2020 football season looked dismal at one point and still remains uncertain in some aspects, but seeing Tennessee Titans rookies reporting this week is something that should give fans a sense of optimism.

Here’s a look at some new faces reporting to the team, following the protocols set in place to avoid further spread of COVID-19.

The Tennessee Titans had a successful 2020 NFL Draft, picking up players like former Georgia offensive lineman Isaiah Wilson, who could help fill the void left by offensive tackle Jack Conklin.

Former LSU cornerback Kristian Fulton should also bring some extra pop to the Titans’ secondary, especially with Logan Ryan — who was absolutely on the upswing — now out of the fold.

Here’s a complete look at the Titans’ selections from this year’s draft, as well as the 14 undrafted free agents the team signed.

Draft picks

Round 1, Pick 29: RT Isaiah Wilson

Round 2, Pick 61: CB Kristian Fulton

Round 3, Pick 93: RB Darrynton Evans

Round 5, Pick 174: DT Larrell Murchison

Round 7, Pick 224: QB Cole McDonald

Round 7, Pick 243: DB Chris Jackson

Undrafted free agents

OL Aaron Brewer

ILB Cale Garrett

TE Tommy Hudson

ILB Khaylan Kearse-Thomas

OL Brandon Kemp

WR Mason Kinsey

K Tucker McCann

OL Anthony McKinney

RB Cameron Scarlett

DL Kobe Smith

DL Teair Tart

WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine

WR Kristian Wilkerson

WR Kyle Williams

As is the case every year, it will be interesting to see how many of these draft picks can carve out a role on the 53-man roster, and which UDFAs can either make the cut or secure a spot on the practice squad.

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Titans 2020 training camp preview: What to expect from special teams

Taking a closer look at the Titans’ special teams ahead of training camp.

In our final installment of training camp previews, we’re going to be taking a look at the Tennessee Titans’ special teams unit, which has one major question going into the 2020 season.

The Titans saw a revolving door at kicker in 2019 that led to the team sporting the worst field goal unit in the NFL.

After failing with the likes of Cairo Santos, Cody Parkey, Ryan Succop and kickoff specialist Ryan Santoso, the Titans settled on Greg Joseph, who attempted and made just one field goal in five games (including playoffs).

Entering training camp, the Titans’ biggest priority on special teams is making sure they have the right man for the job at kicker in order to avoid the disaster that their field goal unit was last season.

Let’s take a closer look at kicker, as well as a few other important special teams positions that will be of note in training camp.

*Note: If you missed any of our training camp previews, we’ve linked to them at the end of this article.

Punter

Titans punter, Brett Kern.
Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

There’s nothing to see here, folks.

Brett Kern is arguably the best punter in the NFL, and he proved that once again last season after earning the nod as a Pro Bowler and First-Team All-Pro. Kern finished fourth in average gross yards per punt, third in net average yards per punt, and first in punts placed inside the 20.

Former Titans defensive coordinator Dean Pees even called the punter the team’s MVP on defense thanks to his ability to flip field position, which was particularly important when the Titans’ offense was struggling early on. He also played a huge role in the Wild Card Round win over the New England Patriots with his sensational kicks.

The only thing that can stop Kern from repeating his success in 2020 is an act of God, and even then he could probably overcome that to have a great season.

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Titans 2020 training camp preview: What to expect from the LBs

Who will secure the final spots on the Titans’ depth chart at inside and outside linebacker?

In our latest installment of Tennessee Titans training camp previews, we take a closer look at both inside and outside linebacker.

Many of the top spots on the depth chart at each position are already locked-in, but there are still some reserve roles up for grabs going into 2020.

Here’s a look at the roster locks and players on the bubble at inside and outside linebacker, followed by a prediction for who will make the cut when rosters are trimmed down to 53 players.

Roster locks: ILBs

Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Jayon Brown

Rashaan Evans

David Long

Nick Dzubnar

Analysis: Brown and Evans return as the starters in 2020 and will form an inside linebacker duo that is quickly emerging as one of the best in the NFL.

Behind them, Long will serve as the primary backup. The former sixth-round pick saw limited action in 2019, but made the most of his opportunities with some key stops on defense throughout the season and in the playoffs. The speed at which Long plays and the instinct he plays with is truly impressive and fun to watch.

We figure Dzubnar will also have a spot on the initial 53-man roster after being inked to a one-year deal to be a key special teams contributor, although it isn’t clear if he’ll have a role beyond that after playing limited snaps on defense during his career. If not, the Titans have to find their No. 4 inside linebacker behind Brown, Evans and Long.

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Titans 2020 training camp preview: What to expect from the DL

Who is going to make the cut along the Titans’ defensive line in 2020?

After previewing every Tennessee Titans offensive position group, we’re now moving on to the defense and starting with the defensive line.

The Titans saw a major subtraction from the group upfront this offseason after trading Jurrell Casey to the Denver Broncos. As a result, there will be a competition for snaps in training camp.

Here’s a look at the roster locks on the defensive line, players on the bubble at the position, and a prediction for how things will shake out.

Note: In case you missed any of our other training camp previews, we’ve linked to them at the end of this article.

Roster locks

Jeffery Simmons

DaQuan Jones

Larrell Murchison

Jack Crawford

Isaiah Mack

Analysis for Jones and Simmons: Two players are already locked-in as starters from this group in Jones and Simmons, both of whom were impressive last season.

Jones had his best season as a pro in 2019, grading out as the No. 30 interior defensive lineman, per PFF. He particularly excelled in run defense, but wasn’t great at generating pressure on passing plays.

Simmons will be tasked with taking the torch from Casey, who was a stalwart on Tennessee’s defense for nine seasons.

The good news for Simmons is that he’ll have the benefit of a full training camp in his second season, which wasn’t the case in his rookie campaign with him having to rehab from a torn ACL.

Simmons made it clear he wasn’t comfortable at his playing weight last year, so his focus was on dropping weight this offseason with the hope that it would help improve his play.

Judging from a recent photo, Simmons looks to be in great shape.

Competition analysis: A competition for snaps will take place between Mack, Crawford and Murchison, all of whom have flashed pass-rush skills in the past. That’s important to point out because the Titans struggled to generate much of a pass-rush from their defensive line last season.

The player who can stand out the most in that area has the best chance to dominate snaps — and each player from this trio has shown in the past that they have the potential to make a dent in 2020.

Mack totaled one sack last preseason and followed that up with 1.5 in limited action during the regular season. Crawford had his best season in 2018 when he started a career-high 11 games and finished with a career-high six sacks.

Murchison, who is known for his high motor, looks to have the chops to be an effective interior pass-rusher after he totaled 11 sacks in two years at NC State, although there’s no telling how far along the rookie will be when training camp arrives thanks to an abbreviated offseason.

No matter who emerges from this group — Mack and Crawford are the favorites — all three will be on the initial 53-man roster, and it’s quite possible we see a rotation at the final starting spot on the defensive line.

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Titans 2020 training camp preview: What to expect from the OL

Which offensive linemen will make the Titans’ 53-man roster?

In our latest installment of previews for the Tennessee Titans’ 2020 training camp, which will start on July 28, we’re going to be taking a look at the offensive linemen.

For this position group, we’re going to see which players are locks to make the roster, which ones are on the bubble, and then make a final prediction for who ultimately makes the cut.

If you’re interested in checking out our other positional previews, we’ve linked to them at the end of this one.

Roster locks

Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Taylor Lewan – LT

Rodger Saffold – LG

Ben Jones – C

Nate Davis – RG

Dennis Kelly – Possible starter at RT

Isaiah Wilson – Possible starter at RT

Analysis: The Titans are returning four-fifths or their starting offensive line from last season, with the only exception being at right tackle after Jack Conklin departed in free agency to the Cleveland Browns.

Communication and chemistry was an issue for the Titans’ O-line in 2019, which welcomed two new starters in Davis and Saffold, both of whom struggled in their first season in Nashville. It also didn’t help that Lewan got suspended for the first four games, hindering the unit’s progress.

After all five starters were finally able to play together for the first time in Week 5, it took time to develop the aforementioned communication and chemistry needed to improve, which Saffold recently admitted.

However, as time progressed and the linemen became more familiar with one another, the Titans stabilized in pass protection and became arguably the most dominant run-blocking offensive line in the NFL.

Davis, who was one of the culprits of the team’s O-line struggles early on, was forced to miss time because of an injury suffered in camp, so the deck was stacked against him getting off to a good start. He does have something to build off of, though, as he posted an overall PFF grade of 71.5 from Week 15 on after putting up a dreadful 30.1 through Week 14.

Things should be better out of the gate in 2020 as long as everyone stays healthy and the line gets a full camp together. On top of building upon the strides made in chemistry, a point of emphasis will be improving the unit’s pass protection, which was better at the end of the year but still saw the second-most sacks allowed in the NFL.

In order to fill the void left by Conklin, the Titans will have a competition between the veteran Kelly and the team’s 2020 first-round pick, Wilson.

For now, the edge definitely goes to Kelly because of his experience and the fact that he brings continuity to the offensive line. It also helps Kelly that Wilson didn’t have the benefit of a mini-camp.

If Wilson does indeed lose the competition, we can’t put too much stock into it because of the shortened offseason. If he somehow beats out Kelly despite everything working against him, the Wilson hype train will officially leave the station.

The most important thing for Wilson in camp is catching up on the time he lost. The Titans have to be focused on the big picture with him and let Kelly handle things in the short term.

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Titans 2020 training camp preview: What to expect from the TEs

A look at the Titans’ tight ends going into training camp.

In our latest installment of Tennessee Titans 2020 training camp previews, we’re going to take a closer look at the tight end position. If you’ve missed any of our previews thus far, we linked to each of them at the end of this article.

Things will look a bit different for Tennessee at the position this year after the team parted ways with Delanie Walker during the offseason. With that said, the Titans are still looking strong at tight end for the upcoming season.

Let’s take a look at the team’s roster locks, players on the roster bubble, and then make a prediction for who will fill out the depth chart when the initial 53-man roster is released.

Roster locks

Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

Jonnu Smith

Anthony Firkser

MyCole Pruitt

Analysis: The Titans will return three of the four tight ends that made the initial 53-man roster cut last season, with the exception being Walker, who was cut earlier this offseason and remains unsigned.

With Walker gone, that will open up a spot for a lesser-known tight end at the bottom of the depth chart — that is, if the Titans decide to carry four players at the position going into the season once again.

Not having Walker on the roster also means that Smith will be the undisputed No. 1 tight end for an entire season, which isn’t necessarily a new thing for the 24-year-old. He filled in for Walker in 2018 after he suffered a brutal ankle injury, and he was the main man in 2019 after seven games.

With Firkser filling in behind Smith, the Titans are going to have an impressive duo of pass-catching tight ends, giving them good depth at the position. Pruitt will take on his normal role as primarily a blocker, which he does as good as anyone in the NFL.

What we really want to see from Smith in training camp is improved chemistry with Ryan Tannehill. Smith and Tannehill worked out together a lot during the offseason, so the Titans’ signal-caller should be looking the young tight end’s way more often in 2020.

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Report: Titans, rest of NFL might bring less than 90 players to training camp

The Titans may not have a full training camp roster in 2020.

In a normal year, the Tennessee Titans and the rest of the NFL teams bring 90 players to training camp, and then eventually cut the roster down to 53 players ahead of the regular season.

However, this is not a normal year due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the NFL continues to take steps in order to help protect its players and stop the spread.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, it appears the plan is for NFL teams to carry less than 90 players into training camp, with 75 to 80 players at max being floated as the possible number.

This news comes just days after it was reported that the NFL is going to cut the preseason short by two games.

This kind of limitation on the number of players in camp will be a huge blow to players who are already on the bubble to begin with, which is unfortunate seeing as how it’s already difficult to make an NFL roster.

The Titans signed 14 undrafted free agents following the 2020 NFL Draft, and it’s likely many of those players will be impacted by this.

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Titans 2020 training camp preview: What to expect from the WRs

Here’s a preview of the Titans’ wide receivers ahead of training camp.

As we slowly creep towards the beginning of Tennessee Titans training camp on July 28, we’re going to be previewing every position group.

Next up is the wide receivers.

Let’s take a look at which players are locks to make the roster, which ones are on the bubble, and then we’ll make a prediction for which receivers are going to make the initial 53-man roster.

Roster locks

Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

A.J. Brown

Corey Davis

Adam Humphries

Kalif Raymond

Analysis for Brown, Davis and Humphries: While the Titans’ top-three receivers don’t have a ton to work on, it’ll be important to see both Humphries and Davis improve their chemistry with Ryan Tannehill.

More specifically, Davis and Tannehill didn’t seem to be on the same page at certain points during the season. Thankfully, unlike last year, Tannehill will have a full training camp with the starters, and the signal-caller has already mentioned his desire to work on chemistry with Davis.

We already know the chemistry between Tannehill and Brown is strong, but the Titans are going to need more from the guys around their former second-round pick, with opposing defenses likely to focus in on him more in 2020.

Analysis for Raymond: While the first three receivers are a given, there can be some debate about who will fill in after Brown, Davis and Humphries. However, in my opinion, Raymond is as close to a lock as one can get.

The Titans are going to need a deep threat to stretch the field in 2020, and Raymond has already proven capable of being that guy. Four of Raymond’s 10 catches (including playoffs) went for 32 yards or more, the biggest of which came in the playoffs against the Baltimore Ravens.

With his ability to stretch the field and impact the return game, only injury can stop Kalif Raymond from making the initial 53-man roster.

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Titans 2020 training camp preview: What to expect from the RBs

Find out which backs we believe will make the Titans’ initial 53-man roster.

The Tennessee Titans will see a new face in their backfield in 2020 after drafting running back Darrynton Evans to play behind Derrick Henry, who won the NFL’s rushing title in 2019.

While those two are locks to be on the roster going into the regular season, there are still some questions left to be answered, and both Evans and Henry have things to work on in training camp.

Let’s take a look at those running backs who are roster locks and those that are on the bubble, and then we’ll make a prediction for how things will shake out for the 53-man roster.

Roster locks

Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

Derrick Henry (Starter)

Darrynton Evans (Backup)

Analysis for Henry: As long as the Alabama product can continue running defenders over and picking up chunk yards like he did last season, he’s going to have a successful 2020 campaign.

However, the Titans would love to see Henry improve as a pass-catcher, which is an area he has struggled at in the past. It also didn’t help that Tennessee’s screen game was a complete mess in 2019.

Expect to see an emphasis on passing Henry the rock in camp, as it would serve the offense well to get the ball into the hands of its best play-maker in a variety of ways, especially when he’s in space.

Analysis for Evans: While the Titans’ 2020 third-round pick will certainly be on the roster, the amount of snaps and touches he gets will depend upon how he shows during training camp and the preseason.

If he’s slow to develop overall, the Titans might be forced to carry an extra back on top Henry, Evans, and quite possibly fullback Khari Blasingame.

We already know that Evans is an explosive back with great speed, and he has shown he has the chops to be an effective pass-catcher, also. What we don’t know is how he’ll hold up in pass protection, which is important if he wants to assume the third-down role that Dion Lewis vacated.

On top of trying to secure trust to with coaches in order to dominate the snaps and touches behind Henry, Evans will likely get a look as a return man after proving to be an impact player in that area with a kick return average of 25.7 yards and three scores in three seasons at Appalachian State.

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2020 Titans training camp QB preview: Chemistry and a competition

In our first positional training camp preview, we’re taking a look at the Titans’ quarterback situation.

While the Tennessee Titans have found themselves a starting quarterback for the foreseeable future in Ryan Tannehill, there are still things to be settled at the position when training camp begins on July 28.

Tannehill currently heads the Titans’ quarterback depth chart, with Logan Woodside and 2020 seventh-round pick Cole McDonald filling in behind him.

Let’s take a closer look at the starter and what he needs to work on in camp, as well as the competition behind him and the biggest question the Titans have to answer at the position.

The starter: Ryan Tannehill

(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

What he needs to work on: Chemistry with pass-catchers

The Titans locked Tannehill up with a four-year deal worth $118 million this offseason after he helped revive the offense and take Tennessee on a 7-3 run that turned a 2-4 start into a playoff berth in 2019.

In 2019, Tannehill didn’t have the benefit of getting a full complement of reps with the starting unit, as Marcus Mariota was the starter in training camp. That will obviously change in 2020.

Tannehill getting more reps with the starters in camp should help build chemistry, which will be important considering the Titans will have to spread the ball around more now that A.J. Brown is likely to receive extra attention from opposing defenses after a sensational rookie campaign.

One player Tannehill has talked about improving chemistry with is Corey Davis, so expect that to be a point of emphasis in camp. He has also been working with tight end Jonnu Smith regularly during the coronavirus pandemic, giving the pair a head start for getting on the same page.

Up until this point, Tannehill is doing everything right in terms of building chemistry, and it’s a process that will no doubt continue into training camp.

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