TENNESSEE TITANS

OFF SEASON CHANGES

Tennessee fired head coach Brian Callahan just six games into a 3-14 season and handed the keys to rookie No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward, who struggled behind a shaky offensive line and without much proven pass-catching talent (35th of 35 qualifying quarterbacks in EPA per dropback). The front office responded by hiring Robert Saleh as head coach and Brian Daboll as offensive coordinator, then spent the fourth overall pick on receiver Carnell Tate and $70 million on free agent Wan'Dale Robinson to finally give Ward real weapons.

QUATERBACKS

Cam Ward's rookie season was rough on paper: 3,169 yards, 15 touchdowns, seven interceptions, sacked a league-high 55 times. He also finished 35th of 35 qualifying quarterbacks in EPA per dropback. However, he notably improved once Brian Callahan was fired and stopped calling plays. Ward flashed real toughness, starting every game despite the punishment he took. New offensive coordinator Brian Daboll is credited with developing Josh Allen into a superstar in Buffalo. Ward clearly has the talent and potential to be great, but we’ll see if last year did any lasting damage to him. Mitch Trubisky and Will Levis are both at Tennessee and both have had their fair share of starts across their careers. Ward is the future here though and he’ll be given every opportunity to start unless there’s an injury.

RUNNING BACKS

Tony Pollard returns as the lead back after a 1082 rushing yard and 5 touchdown season. If I’m honest, those numbers flattered him a lot. He was averaging less than 4 yards per carry until he had a great stretch over the final six games of the season. Nearly half of his 1082 yards came in those final six games compared to the other half in the first 11 games. Pollard is still 29 and the Titans’ offensive line is slightly revamped, so he should produce some decent numbers. His rushing line for the season is set at 775.5 – appears a little low to me. However we do know most of these lines are accounting for an injury happening at some point. Tyjae Spears is a solid backup and the Titans drafted RB Nicholas Singleton who could get more chances as the season goes on.

RECEIVERS

Carnell Tate arrives via the fourth overall pick after an 875-yard, nine-touchdown junior season at Ohio State. He’s obviously a major talent and it’s rare for wide receivers to go that early in the draft. The Titans will hope he and Ward form a great partnership for years to come. All reports from camp are that he will immediately be WR1 and he looks really sharp, but there might be some growing pains with the two of them. Wan'Dale Robinson joins as a $70 million free agent after topping 1000 receiving yards with Jaxson Dart in New York. He’ll be another nice option for Ward, especially if he needs to get the ball out quickly. Calvin Ridley returns after restructuring his own contract to stay. For the first time in Ward's young career, this is a genuine, multi-threat receiver room. I would argue their tight end room is quite weak – with Gunnar Helm listed as tight end 1. Most of the receiving yards will be going to wide receivers here.

DEFENCE

Tennessee's defense gave up the most EPA per dropback to receivers lined up out wide in the NFL last season and lost its top two outside corners this offseason. The front office added John Franklin-Myers, Alontae Taylor, and Cor'Dale Flott to patch the secondary, but this remains a unit in transition as Saleh installs his system. I think we can expect a pretty solid defensive unit, but this team probably won’t challenge for playoffs, especially in a strong AFC South.