Tag: Roger McCreary

Roger McCreary dubbed Titans’ most improved player from 2023

Roger McCreary was definitely a bright spot for the Titans in 2023.

One of the pleasant surprises from the Tennessee Titans’ 2023 campaign was the play of cornerback Roger McCreary.

Not only did McCreary play well, he did so while playing a new position after the team moved him into the slot.

According to Pro Football Focus, McCreary allowed a higher completion rate than his rookie year, but he also surrendered 1.4 less yards per reception, his passer rating allowed dropped by 25, he had one more pass break-up and surrendered seven less touchdowns.

McCreary was so good that PFF ranked him among the 32-best cornerbacks in the NFL for 2023, with the Auburn product coming in at No. 19.

So, it comes as no surprise that McCreary was named the Titans’ most improved player of 2023 in an article by PFF’s Zoltan Buday.

Despite allowing more catches in 2023, he gave up 80 fewer yards than in 2022 and did not let up a single touchdown reception all season after surrendering seven during his rookie season.

The Titans enter the 2024 offseason with multiple question marks in the secondary.

Tennessee needs two starters on the outside, depending on what happens with Sean Murphy-Bunting and Kristian Fulton. SMB has a shot to return but Fulton will almost certainly move on.

Whatever the case may be, it’s good to know the Titans have at least one player in the cornerbacks room to pencil in for 2024 — and a good one, at that.

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D.J. James expected to opt out of the Music City Bowl

Auburn cornerback is expected to opt out of the Music City Bowl against Maryland later this month to focus on the NFL Draft.

The Auburn Tigers have lost their first player due to opt-out.

Standout cornerback [autotag]D.J James[/autotag] has decided to withdraw from the Music City Bowl against Maryland to focus on the upcoming NFL Draft.

The senior has played his final game as a Tiger but has accepted an invite to the Reese’s Senior Bowl, where he will join teammates [autotag]Jaylin Simpson[/autotag] and [autotag]Nehemiah Pritchett[/autotag] for the game in February.

James is coming off a signature season for the Tigers in which he earned an 83.8 PFF coverage grade. That grade was good enough for ninth in all of FBS.

After transferring from Oregon to Auburn in 2022, James tallied 75 total tackles for the Tigers, intercepting 3 passes and officially defending 17 passes.

He was a major reason [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag]’s team is bowl-eligible this season, as himself and safety [autotag]Jaylin Simpson[/autotag] led an Auburn secondary that finished 33rd in FBS in opponent passing yards per game (206.9)

Auburn’s top coverage corner is likely a Day 2 Draft pick according to most sources. While he likely won’t be selected as high as former teammate and 2022 Tennessee Titans draft pick [autotag]Roger McCreary[/autotag], James has should join McCreary, [autotag]Jamel Dean[/autotag], [autotag]Carlton Davis[/autotag], and [autotag]Jonathan Jones[/autotag], as former Tiger cornerbacks playing large roles in the NFL.

NFLDraftBuzz.com has James slotted as the No. 17 cornerback on their draft board, while Pro Football Network ranks the senior just inside of their top 60 overall.

While many people may remember James’ time as a Tiger unfairly due to his final play with the team, he was undoubtedly the best cornerback on the roster during his time with the team and arguably their best player.

Auburn will miss him dearly when they take on a pass-heavy Maryland attack led by Taulia Tagovailoa, the brother of former Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

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Watch: Titans CB Roger McCreary was mic’d up in Week 13

Titans CB Roger McCreary was mic’d up for the Week 13 game against the Colts.

Tennessee Titans second-year cornerback Roger McCreary has been one of the few bright spots on the team all year long.

The Auburn product has done a great job of transitioning into primarily working in the slot, earning a career-high overall grade of 68.8, per Pro Football Focus.

It hasn’t always been pretty, and he certainly has moments he undoubtedly would like back, but there have been times when the Titans’ young cornerback has been an outstanding presence in coverage.

This week, we got to take a peek (and listen) behind the curtain and see McCreary’s personality a little bit more than we’re used to, as he was mic’d up for last Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts.

The second-year corner’s contagious energy was on full display, with the second-year constantly hyping up both himself and his teammates.

While this has certainly been a disappointing season for the Titans, McCreary is one of the talented young players on the defensive side of the ball that this team can build around for the foreseeable future.

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Auburn in the NFL: Week 10 Recap

Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Jamel Dean helped his team get the best of Roger McCreary and the Tennessee Titans, Daniel Carlson made 3 key field goals to help the Raiders move to 2-0 under interim coach Antonio Pierce, Braden Smith returned from injury across the pond, and Derick Hall’s Seahawks bounced back after a tough loss.

The NFL season is officially reaching the home stretch,

As we do every week, Auburn Wire will take a look at some of the most notable performances from Auburn Alumni across the League.

NFL Week 10 was yet another quiet week for former Tigers, but there were some noteworthy storylines nonetheless. Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback [autotag]Jamel Dean[/autotag] helped his team get the best of [autotag]Roger McCreary[/autotag] and the Tennessee Titans, [autotag]Daniel Carlson[/autotag] made 3 key field goals to help the Raiders move to 2-0 under interim coach Antonio Pierce, [autotag]Braden Smith[/autotag] returned from injury across the pond, and [autotag]Derick Hall'[/autotag]s Seahawks bounced back after a tough loss.

Here is a look at several headlines from Week 10 that feature Auburn’s top NFL players.

Auburn in the NFL: Week 9 Recap

Daniel Carlson helped secure a win for his new head coach, C.J. Uzomah and the Jets couldn’t complete a Monday Night comeback, Roger McCreary has been cleared to return in week 10, and Anders Carlson was shaky again in the Packers win.

The NFL season is already over halfway over as we approach the holiday months.

As we do every week, Auburn Wire will take a look at some of the most notable performances from Auburn Alumni across the League.

NFL Week 9 was a very quiet week for former Tigers, but there were some noteworthy storylines nonetheless. Las Vegas Raiders kicker [autotag]Daniel Carlson[/autotag] helped secure a win for his new head coach, [autotag]C.J. Uzomah[/autotag] and the Jets couldn’t complete a Monday Night comeback, [autotag]Roger McCreary[/autotag] has been cleared to return in week 10, and [autotag]Anders Carlson[/autotag] was shaky again in the Packers win.

Here is a look at several headlines from Week 9 that feature Auburn’s top NFL players.

Titans injury updates: Treylon Burks, Chris Hubbard, Roger McCreary, more

Titans head coach Mike Vrabel provided injury updates on a handful of players on Tuesday.

Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel met with the media on Tuesday and gave some injury updates on several players.

The biggest story of the day, however, was the Titans naming rookie signal-caller Will Levis the starter over veteran quarterback Ryan Tannehill, which was the expected decision.

On the injury front, when asked about Tannehill’s status for Week 10, Vrabel did not say whether or not he would be ready to go. If Tannehill can’t play, Malik Willis will serve as the backup to Levis.

One player we did not get an update on was offensive tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere, who exited the Week 9 contest early due to a shoulder injury. A report from Titans beat writer Paul Kuharsky on Monday stated that NPF would likely miss the remainder of the season, as the injury will require surgery.

Now, a look at the updates from Vrabel on cornerback Roger McCreary, right tackle Chris Hubbard, wide receiver Treylon Burks and cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting.

In addition, a report on the status of offensive lineman Daniel Brunskill.

Titans Week 8 snap counts: Two-QB plan goes by the wayside quickly

How the Titans handled the QB snaps and filled the voids left by the Kevin Byard trade and Roger McCreary injury.

Going into the Week 8 game with the Atlanta Falcons, it wasn’t clear exactly how the Tennessee Titans planned on utilizing their young quarterbacks, Will Levis and Malik Willis.

Reports suggested Levis would be the starter and primary quarterback, but head coach Mike Vrabel insisted the team would likely alternate the two.

As it turns out, the latter was indeed the plan, at least according to Vrabel after the game. However, Vrabel admitted Tennessee bailed on that approach when Willis lost a fumble on a bad snap on the opening series.

After that, Willis didn’t see the field much, but exactly how many snaps did he play? And, how did the Titans fill the voids left by the trade of Kevin Byard and injury to Roger McCreary?

We’ll take a look at those questions and much more as we go over the Titans’ snap counts from their Week 8 win over the Falcons on Sunday.

Titans vs. Falcons: Final injury report for Week 8

The Titans have ruled out three players for the Week 8 game against the Falcons.

The Tennessee Titans and Atlanta Falcons have released their final injury reports ahead of the Week 8 contest at Nissan Stadium on Sunday.

The Titans have ruled out three players in quarterback Ryan Tannehill, tight end Josh Whyle and cornerback Roger McCreary, who suffered a hamstring injury in practice during the week.

The Titans will welcome back three players in wide receiver Treylon Burks, defensive back Elijah Molden and defensive lineman Teair Tart, all of whom had missed multiple games in a row.

The only player listed as questionable is defensive lineman Naquan Jones, who popped up on the injury report on Friday and did not practice.

With McCreary out, practice squad cornerback Eric Garror will play in the slot, as head coach Mike Vrabel revealed on Friday. Garror was also involved in the competition at punt returner, so he may pull double duty.

The Titans have yet to officially name a starter at quarterback and Vrabel has said both Malik Willis and Will Levis will play, and he even suggested they could alternate series.

However, a report earlier in the week suggested the Titans would roll with Levis as the primary quarterback, and that’s the route I expect the team to take, with Willis mixing in for some plays here and there.

As for the Falcons, linebacker Tae Davis has been ruled out and the Titans’ old friend, outside linebacker Bud Dupree, was a late addition to the injury report on Friday and is now listed as questionable.

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Auburn in the NFL: Week 5 Recap

The Carlson brothers faced off in primetime, former Tigers Roger McCreary and Braden Smith battle in Indianapolis, C.J. Uzomah delivers speech before Jets vs. Broncos, and Montravius Adams sees an uptick in snaps.

The NFL season is steadily marching on and each week throughout the season, Auburn Wire will take a look at some of the most notable performances from Auburn Alumni across the League.

It was a quiet week for former Tigers, but there were some interesting storylines that stood out this week, including a pair of brothers facing off, a fiery pregame speech, two former Tigers facing off in a tightly-contested divisional match and a former defensive lineman continuing to carve out a role for himself.

Here is a look at several headlines from Week 5 that feature Auburn’s top NFL players.

Auburn in the NFL: Week 3 Recap

From sacks to scores to milestones, here’s a look at how former Tigers performed in the NFL in week three.

Each week throughout the NFL season, Auburn Wire will take a look at some of the most notable performances from Auburn Alumni across the League.

It was another quiet week for former Tigers, but there were a few notable performances nonetheless.

Here is a look at several week three headlines from Auburn’s top NFL players.