TAKING STOCK: 2022 TENNESSEE TITANS

BY ADAM GREENE

Coming into the 2021-22 playoffs, the Tennessee Titans were the weakest No. 1 seed in the AFC since, well, the 2008 Tennessee Titans. This current group of Titans suffered the same result, losing a low scoring game to an AFC North opponent. In 2008 it was the Baltimore Ravens. This year it was the eventual AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals.

It was the second consecutive one and done playoff appearance for the Titans who made it all the way to the AFC Championship in 2019-20. But, critiques aside, this is one of the league’s better teams, even if they’ve mainly dominated one of the NFL’s weaker divisions in the AFC South.

TENNESSEE TITANS

2021-22 Record: 12-5, first place AFC South, No. 1 Seed in the AFC

Playoffs: Lost 19-16 to the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Divisional Round

NOW WHAT?

Tennessee let guard Rodger Saffold escape and cut underperforming wide receiver Julio Jones. Jackrabbit Jenkins was also shown the door. The only non free agent addition they’ve made so far has been acquiring wide receiver Robert Woods from the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for a sixth round draft pick. This was an absolute steal, and while Woods is still recovering from a knee injury that ended his 2021-22 season, he’ll be an upgrade over Jones in production and adding versatility to the offense. Plus, he’ll be a team leader the moment he steps into the locker room.

They’ve kept kicker Randy Bullock, finally solidifying that spot, linebacker Ola Adeniyi, center Ben Jones and cornerback Buster Skrine. There have been no big splash moves made, thought it’s surprising to me that Tennessee didn’t at least pick up the phone and talk to the Atlanta Falcons about Matt Ryan. I’m not a Ryan Tannehill hater, but in the AFC arms race (and after Tannehill’s 2021), Tennessee has definitely fallen significantly behind.

FREE AGENCY

The biggest acquisitions the Titans made in free agency as of this writing was adding tight end Austin Hooper. They’ve brought in some back ups at a few positions, but with under $5 million in cap space, Tennessee will have to move some money around to make any more moves. I don’t expect to see any until after the draft.

DRAFT

In my first, and now obsolete, mock draft, I had the Titans taking Daxton Hill, cornerback out of Michigan with the No. 26 overall pick and I’m sticking with that plan. They need a corner and there should be some good ones still on the board at that spot. They don’t have a second rounder, so their next shot at stealing a starter comes in the third. They could, at No. 90, go with a wide receiver like Khalil Shakir out of Boise State or shore up the offensive line with hometown kid Cade Mays out of Tennessee. I know a lot of people in the eastern side of the state would be thrilled to see that.

AFC SOUTH

With Matt Ryan in Indianapolis now, they are a real contender for the South crown. The Colts might even be ahead of Tennessee with their overall roster at this point, so there can be no “accidents” like this team had last season falling to the Houston Texans and the New York Jets. The AFC is way too strong and the only way to guarantee a playoff spot in 2022-23 is to win your division.

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan.

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