Tennessee Titans
2019 Record: (9-7) 2nd
AFC South
2019 Season Recap:
Offense
Points: 25.1 (10th)
Yards: 362.8 (12th)
Pass Yards: 223.9 (21st)
Rush Yards: 138.9 (3rd)
Defense
Points: 20.7 (12th)
Yards: 359.5 (21st)
Pass Yards: 255.0 (24th)
Rush Yards: 104.5 (12th)
When we look back at the 2019 edition of the Tennessee Titans, its
clear a few major adjustments took place to propel them into the postseason.
First, we went on record going all the back to training camp to suggest the
benching of Marcus Mariota in favor of Ryan Tannehill. Mariota simply has seen a
vast amount of regression and a loss of confidence that we just couldn’t see
anything positive transpiring with him being the team starter.
Fast forwarding to week number six, head coach Mike Vrabel also
seemed to have enough, and made the change at the position and the rest is
history. As the team starter, Tannehill was able to exploit the play action
pass while allowing Derrick Henry to see far fewer stacked boxes. The emergence
of their rookie pass catcher (AJ Brown) Tennessee had a revived pass attack that
was doing sound damage.
While we did preach the great play of Tannehill, it was Henry that
ramped up his level of play to showcase that bulldozing power and deceptive speed
which took this offense over the top. The combination of the two made this
Titans offense extremely tough to beat when they got rolling. Needless to say,
we were right on point with the belief that Tannehill would be much more productive
with all the weapons this offense had - and taking this club all the way to the
AFC Championship was the end result.
And though the season can be viewed as a giant success given to
where they started, this offseason will tell a great tale of what this club
will be for many years to come.
2020 Offseason
WorkBook:
The Offense
Looking at what this offense could become in 2020, many obstacles rest
on this roster that need to be ironed out. While in the onset it appears that
Tannehill, Henry, and AJ Brown are forming to be the clubs big three trio that
could be a force from many years to come, two of the three will need new
contracts heading into the offseason.
Assuming the Titans believe that Tannehill could be the long-term
answer at the quarterback position, we also feel he is worthy of coming back to
lead the train. Tannehill is by no means a super star talent that will be
etching his name into Canton, but is definitely serviceable to lead this team
to pastures not yet realized. Over the course of his NFL career, Tannehill is a
two-time 4000-yard passer, while hitting a high of 27 touchdowns in the process.
There is no question he can play at a high level, and teamed with a fabulous run
attack, the system is perfect to pull victories.
When it comes to Derrick Henry, he too is in need of a new
contract to keep him in Tennessee, and the debate will of course be – do the
Titans pay big dollars to the position. Admittedly, we haven’t been the largest
supporters of Henry and his body of work, simply due to his ability to flip a
switch and lower his level of play. With that said, Henry impressed us in 2019
as he truly separated himself from the pack to flirt with the conversation to
be one of the best backs in the league. His playoff output was absolutely
unbelievable as he carried the Titans while been fed mammoth amounts of carries.
Either way, this will be a tough choice for the Titans brain trust on how to
handle this player.
When it comes to the receiving core, how can we not begin with highlighting
the supreme underachieving of Corey Davis. His inadequacy was realized that
much more with the arrival of their star rookie AJ Brown. Brown took over the
number one receiver role as the season wore on leaving Davis a complete afterthought.
Even still, while we truly believe Brown is a super star in the making, Davis
should continue to have a role as a secondary piece and his statistical achievements
could be seen with lesser coverage thrown his way.
The excitement of what could become with the receiving threats on
this team, Jonnu Smith and Adam Humphries potentially having a bigger role could
be seen. While Humphries did deal with his share of injures, Smith ended the season
showing that he should be the primary tight end leaving Delanie Walker expendable.
For everything positive in how this roster could be constructed,
the future does look bright, but many question marks still exist.
The Defense
When discussing the defensive side of the ball, many don’t believe
in this unit to be hard nosed and dominating. And while the stats don’t paint a
sound picture of how we view them, this crop is a solid bunch that will some
tinkering could become a force.
Starting with the defensive front, there is a heck of a lot to
like with Jeffery Simmons, Harold Landry and Jurrell Casey leading the charge.
Landry looked like an absolute steal of sorts for where the Titans were able to
secure his services from his draft class. With 16 total sacks between the trio,
we really like the core and youth this group has and could become in 2020.
If there is one weakness on this defense at this point, it would fall
on the linebacking core as massive upgrades would be a welcomed sight. This
group is also filled with players that can rush the passer with Cam Wake and
Kamalei Correa, but Rashaan Evans truly needs assistance in the middle of the
field. And while we don’t care for the overall aspect of this linebacking core,
the secondary fell short of statistical importance - even though they hold
names of star talent.
Built around the pure ability of Adoree Jackson, Malcolm Butler,
Logan Ryan, Kevin Byard, and Kenny Vaccaro – you would think teams wouldn’t be
able to find an inch of room to throw the ball. However, traction was lost when
players spent time in the medical room recovering from their aliments, the 24th
best pass defense is what we witnessed. With basically the entire group still
locked up for 2020, we absolutely believe a much better campaign is on the
horizon.
All-in-all, there are many pieces to this side that should be able
to fetch much better production with a sound draft class and added depth pieces
from the open market.
Team Free Agents / Team Salary Cap
For a team that went 9-7 this past season, but were able to excel in
the postseason, the near 48 million in free cap space is a welcomed sight to
keep this club moving and competitive for many years to come. While 48 million
does look promising, Tennessee does have 21 team free agents to contend with
and may fall short to bring back some important pieces.
Like we said above, the priority will have to be the contracts of
Tannehill and Henry before anyone else’s contract is even considered. Tannehill
was playing at a bargain price of 2 million this past season, but should earn a
handsome raise to the tune comparable of Kirk Cousins contract from Minnesota.
If that is the celling, we should see Tannehill fetch anywhere from four to six
years at approximately 60-80 million. Adding to that nice payout, Henry has
already suggested his floor would view much like Zeke Elliott’s contract given
this past season. If that is the case as well, Henry would covet around six
years to the tune of 90 million with 50 million guaranteed. Locking up these two
individuals would cripple their cap in many ways with many other talents to
re-up.
Of notable names remaining on the list after Tannehill and Henry –
Logan Ryan, Jack Conklin, Kamalei Correa, lead the way to come back on new
deals. Making matters worse, Ryan and Conklin would account for big money also,
making in near impossible to get them all done. For our appetite, Conklin is
the obvious choice to offer new money too, but would be searching for dollars
around the 15 million per year mark. Adding to that, with how well Ryan played
last season, he might have just priced his way out of town.
A very tough offseason is on the docket for general manager Jon
Robinson, as these moves will likely make or break his tenure with the Titans.
The NFL Draft
When it comes to restocking the cupboards for this roster,
Tennessee currently holds only six picks in this year’s draft, with no fourth
rounder on the books. To make matters worse, the punishment of last seasons success
has them selecting their first pick at 25th overall. While starting talent
can be found on the back end of the first round, the Titans scouting department
will have their work cut out for them.
With Logan Ryan likely finding his way out of town, one would believe
that defensive back would be a top priority. Even though it would be difficult
to argue that point, we would prefer Tennessee to move toward the offensive
line. At times this past season, we did see struggles of the offensive front
and adding viable playmaking depth with a potential starter upgrade wouldn’t be
the worst thing, especially if they resign Henry and Tannehill.
In thinking outside the box, could we see the Titans move in a completely
different direction and draft a replacement for Henry after not offering him a
big money contract? If this does come to fruition, the Titans would have ample
options to select a new runner while saving big dollars on the books. Perhaps D’Andre
Swift, Jonathan Taylor, or J.K Dobbins would be the right choice. For how this team’s
offensive scheme is already set up, Taylor would be the clear replacement option
with a hard nose style of running.
With speculation aside, the Titans 2020 offseason is one that will
be vastly important for many years to come. We will be watching closely and intently.
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