Tennessee Titans: Offseason Wants, Needs & Preview

[Finished 11-5 Overall]

The Tennessee Titans have advanced to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. Super Bowl windows in the NFL can only stay open for so long, and this puts a ton of pressure on this team to perform above and beyond in 2021. OC Arthur Smith is now the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, and King Henry can only carry the load of the offense on his back for so long. After all, he did rush for 2,000 yards last season. Is it possible to do this again? Absolutely, but it will be difficult.

This offseason, the franchise made the controversial decision to promote two in-house coaches for their two vacant coordinator positions. Since it will be up to mostly the same coaching staff to take this team all the way, this could actually end up benefiting the Titans.

Offensive Needs

Former Titans OC Arthur Smith orchestrated a humming offense in 2020. Smith is best known for establishing the run and mixing in a bunch of play-action passing. The Titans finished as top five in points scored (4th) and percentage of red-zone trips ending in a touchdown (2nd). Following his stint in Miami, QB Ryan Tannehill was once thought to be a bust. However, Tannehill showed signs of growth and excellence under Smith's guidance. Tannehill led the NFL in play-action rate (36%) and averaged 2.8 more yards per attempt on play-action compared to his non-play-action attempts. Tannehill is more accurate and more athletic than other “system quarterbacks”, but some regression is to be expected after facing the fifth-easiest strength of schedule last year.

In 2021, the Titans will sport a very different look on offense, and not just because of the loss of Smith. Yes, QB Ryan Tannehill, WR AJ Brown, and RB Derrick Henry are locked in, but WR Corey Davis and TE Jonnu Smith are set to become free agents. The team has also released WR Adam Humphries.

After years of searching for an explosive and reliable receiver, the Titans finally found that in A.J. Brown. With so many weapons potentially departing, Brown can smash his WR13 per game ranking. Volume has always been the issue for brown who was the fifth most efficient fantasy receiver in the NFL last season, and third in yards per route run. Now, the biggest priority for this team at the receiver position is to increase the depth behind him. What will the Titans decide to do with free agent Corey Davis? Keeping the continuity of Brown and Davis makes sense at the right price. Davis is coming off the best year of his career, despite having to overcome a ton of adversity, both on and off the field. If the Titans have to get into a bidding war for Davis, it may become too pricy to retain him, especially since the Titans have several other key needs to address. The team’s lack of depth was on full display when they faced the Baltimore Ravens on Super Wild Card Weekend. When Davis went down with an injury, all of the coverage was diverted to Brown, and the other receivers struggled to win their individual matchups.

The Titans will also need to make a decision about Jonnu Smith. The talented tight end is set to become a free agent. Smith's eight red-zone touchdowns in 2020 ranked him as the TE11 per game. Between Smith and Davis, the Titans will likely want to keep at least one of the two. With nine out of 11 starters scheduled to return, the potential return of either Smith and/or Davis would make it a whopping 10 or 11. Smith is just 26-years-old, and with his elite athleticism, he will find a starting role whether it's Tennessee or elsewhere.

It's very rare to see a team present an offensive line that's as successful as the Titans'. All members of the line are set to return in 2021. A dominant offensive line is what opened up lanes for Derrick Henry’s 2,000-yard rushing season. The Titans may opt to go back to a run-first offense in 2021 with Derrick Henry running the backfield. Excluding playoffs, King Henry tallied up 718 touches over his last two seasons. Is his workload sustainable going into his age-27 season? Perhaps. The fantasy superstar has a little more risk in PPR leagues but it’s hard to bet against the big dog.

In a series of unfortunate events, the Titans lost many games this season due to horrendous kicking. Clearly, Stephen Gostkowski's best days are behind him, and the Titans would be smart to show him the door.

Defensive Needs

This defensive unit was arguably the worst in the NFL this past season. It was disastrous on all fronts. Milk cartons nationwide featured the Titans defense. It was missing all season long. The search party even looked into the playoffs, but even then, the Titans defense was nowhere to be found. This unit had a difficult time stopping the run, stopping the pass, and establishing any type of pressure on the opposing teams' quarterbacks. Without any improvement to the defense, this team will be, at best, one and done like they were in the 2020 playoffs.

We have to at least give credit to the front office for trying to address this major issue. They did bring in LB Jadeveon Clowney, but he was on and off the field, as usual. As an upcoming free agent, he will command a huge contract for his services. Linebacker is definitely a need that the Titans must address. The Titans sported one of the worst pass rushes in the NFL in 2020, and part of the reason that was the case was thanks to a lack of production at the outside linebacker position. GM Jon Robinson failed to improve the situation during the last offseason, and LB Harold Landry did not take the leap we all expected him to. Robinson can’t afford to drop the ball once again in 2021.

For the first time in a while, the secondary has some legitimate questions of its own. S Justin Simmons was actually one of the few Titans who had a productive year on the defensive side of the ball. Meanwhile, S Kevin Byard, S Kenny Vaccaro, and CB Adoree’ Jackson all fell off for a variety of reasons. S Kenny Vaccaro and CB Malcolm Butler joined hands as both were released as cap casualties. Butler was set to make $14.2M in 2021, but cutting him will save Tennessee $10.2M immediately. Releasing Vaccaro will save the franchise $3.9M in 2021 while carrying a dead-money cap hit of $3M. Byard and Jackson in particular must prove that their performances last year were anomalous, otherwise, they won’t be back in 2022. Tennessee also needs to get its 2020 second-round pick, CB Kristian Fulton, back in the fold after he missed most of his rookie year with a knee injury. Considering the draft capital the team gave up to get him, keeping CB Desmond King around would be wise if his price tag is reasonable.

NT DaQuan Jones will also be a free agent this offseason. Even if Jones can be brought back, the Titans should explore all of their options in order to upgrade the position. Whether it’s through free agency or the draft, Tennessee must find a way to get another difference-maker or two.

Too Long Didn't Read Verison

The Tennessee Titans were projected to have very limited cap space going into free agency. With the recent cuts of Butler and Vaccaro, they have around $16M in cap space to work with. The franchise still needs to get creative since they have many issues to address this offseason.

In other news, we'll have to see if HC Mike Vrabel can get the job done without OC Arthur Smith calling the shots. After establishing the run game with Derrick Henry, Smith was the perfect play-caller for Ryan Tannehill's play-action game. Tannehill has shown that he excels when he goes off-script. With additional depth anticipated to the offensive weapons at Tannehill's fingertips, his fantasy future is intriguing. Making the playoffs again in 2021 is certainly possible, but the Titans need to nail the right pieces on the defensive side of the ball to make that happen.