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With the entire 2020 season now officially in the books after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs handily in Super Bowl LV, let the NFL Power Rankings for 2021 begin.
Touchdown Wire’s Mark Schofield released his “absurdly early” power rankings, and in it the Tennessee Titans come in at No. 8, just ahead of the Seattle Seahawks (No. 9) and Miami Dolphins (No. 10).
Here’s Schofield’s take on things for the boys in the two-tone blue:
“The Tennessee Titans are coming off their second-straight playoff appearance, and they’ll return some key pieces on the offensive side of the football, including quarterback Ryan Tannehill, the dangerous A.J. Brown on the outside, and this season’s AP Offensive Player of the Year in Derrick Henry.
“If the Titans address the trenches on both sides of the football, and add another weapon or two to the wide receiver room (they face a decision on wide receiver Corey Davis, who is entering free agency) the team will be in good shape on both sides of the football. Yes, they lost offensive coordinator Arthur Smith to the Atlanta Falcons, but Todd Downing steps in as the new OC, and having spent the past few seasons with the Titans, offensive continuity should be in place, which is always a good thing.”
The seven teams ahead of the Titans are as follows:
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Buffalo Bills
- Green Bay Packers
- Baltimore Ravens
- Los Angeles Rams
- Cleveland Browns
With all the questions the Titans have to answer in free agency, and particularly on defense, this is a pretty good start in the rankings.
From the jump, Tennessee has an elite offense to start with for 2021, but must make additions to beef up the receiving corps., while also having decisions to make with Corey Davis and Jonnu Smith.
Where general manager Jon Robinson really needs to hit a home run is on defense, where he failed to make a dent in the team’s pass rush problem, which actually ended up getting worse last season.
Robinson’s quest to improve both sides of the ball will start in mid-March.
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