Tennessee Titans fans are accustomed to their team getting overlooked for a lot of things, but NFL.com’s Power Rankings aren’t one of them.
Dan Hanzus ranked every NFL team from No. 1 to No. 32 after the first week of free agency and the Titans have come out smelling like a rose, ranking as the No. 6 team in the league in his eyes.
With a new deal for Ryan Tannehill and the franchise tag for Derrick Henry, the Titans will enter the 2020 campaign with the two players who guided them to the brink of an AFC title, including a playoff conquest in Foxborough in January. (Quick aside: Congrats to free agent Logan Ryan, who can always say he intercepted Tom Brady’s final pass as a Patriot and took it to the end zone.) Not all the news was good in the first wave of free agency, though: Right tackle Jack Conklin, a former top-10 pick who routinely blew open running lanes for Henry, is now in Cleveland on a rich free-agent deal. Coming off a monster 2019 workload and absent a key run blocker, it’s fair to wonder if a dip in production is coming for Henry.
Here’s a look at the top five ahead of the Titans, per Hanzus.
- Kansas City Chiefs
- San Francisco 49ers
- Baltimore Ravens
- New Orleans Saints
- Green Bay Packers
You could make an argument that the Titans should be ahead of the Green Bay Packers, the No. 5 team, or even the Baltimore Ravens, the No. 3 team, after the Titans dismantled Lamar Jackson and Co. in the playoffs.
But I guess we won’t get greedy here, and there’s still time left in the offseason to make more moves to leapfrog those two.
A big reason for this ranking likely comes from the fact that the Titans are going to “run it back” with 10 of their 11 offensive starters, and it’s the same group that helped Tennessee make it all the way to the AFC Championship.
We also have to remember that while the Titans did only finish with a 9-7 record (again) to squeak into the playoffs, they ended the regular season on a 7-3 run after a 2-4 start.
En route to that, the Ryan Tannehill-led offense was putting up great numbers that made it one of the most explosive units in the league.
The only exception to the “run it back” motto for 2020 in the offense is Jack Conklin, who moved on in free agency to sign with the Cleveland Browns.
Sure, Conklin was great last season, but Dennis Kelly, his 2020 replacement, has proven he can be a starting-caliber right tackle in the NFL, which he displayed in 2018. There won’t be a huge drop-off there, if at all.
The only thing left to figure out is what happens with the defense as the Titans continue to wade through the waters of free agency. At the moment, there is some uncertainty there.
Will they bring back Logan Ryan, and if not is his replacement going to be as good or better? How will they fill the void left by trading Jurrell Casey to the Denver Broncos? What’s the deal at kicker?
Despite these remaining questions, Hanzus has the Titans ranked right where they should be, and Tennessee is one big move away from really solidifying itself as a true Super Bowl contender in 2020.