The Tennessee Titans finally lost their vise-like grip on the AFC South last season as injuries contributed to a 7-10 finish. After winning the division in three straight years and four times in the last five seasons, the Titans are now trying to compete after revamping their roster this offseason.
We have an all-encompassing Titans season preview now that most of the major NFL offseason events are over. Below are the Titans’ projected depth chart, roster changes, and season predictions.
Everything You Need Ahead of the Tennessee Titans 2023 NFL Season
The Titans entered the offseason needing to clear an expensive, injury-prone roster that lacked depth. Though they watched some talented players depart, they’re hoping some under-the-radar acquisitions will help provide some valuable gems.
The major storylines entering the season will be whether veteran quarterback Ryan Tannehill can keep second-round pick Will Levis off the field and if the Titans trade or keep star running back Derrick Henry.
Titans Roster Changes
- Players Acquired
- EDGE Arden Key
- LT Andre Dillard
- CB Sean Murphy-Bunting
- LB Azeez Al-Shaair
- RG Daniel Brunskill
- Players Drafted
- OL Peter Skoronski
- QB Will Levis
- RB Tyjae Spears
- TE Josh Whyle
- OT Jaelyn Duncan
- WR Colton Dowell
- Players Lost
- LB David Long Jr.
- DE DeMarcus Walker
- EDGE Bud Dupree
- WR Robert Woods
- LT Taylor Lewan
- LB Zach Cunningham
- OC Ben Jones
- TE Austin Hooper
- DL Mario Edwards Jr.
- QB Joshua Dobbs
Titans Coaching Staff in 2023
- Head coach: Mike Vrabel
- Offensive Coordinator: Tim Kelly
- QB coach: Charles London
- RB coach: Justin Outten
- OL coach: Jason Houghtaling
- WR coach: Rob Moore
- TE coach: Tony Dews
- Assistant OL coach: Matt Jones
- Assistant OL coach: Mike Sullivan
- Passing game analyst: Pat O’Hara
- Offensive assistant: Kylan Butler
- Defensive Coordinator: Shane Bowen
- DL coach: Terrell Williams
- ILB coach: Bobby King
- OLB coach: Ryan Crow
- CB coach: Chris Harris
- ILB assisstant: Zak Kuhr
- Safeties coach: Scott Booker
- Defensive quality control: Lori Locust
- Defensive quality control: Justin Hamilton
- Defensive assistant: Chris McMillan
- Special Teams Coordinator: Craig Aukerman
- Assistant special teams coach: Tom Quinn
- Assistant special teams coach: Anthony Levine
Predicting the Titans Depth Chart
- QB: Ryan Tannehill, Will Levis, Malik Willis
- RB: Derrick Henry, Tyjae Spears, Hassan Haskins, Julius Chestnut
- WR: Treylon Burks, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Kyle Philips, Chris Moore, Racey McMath
- TE: Chigoziem Okonkwo, Josh Whyle, Trevon Wesco
- LT: Peter Skoronski, Andre Dillard, Jaelyn Duncan
- LG: Dillon Radunz, John Leglue
- C: Aaron Brewer, Corey Levin
- RG: Daniel Brunskill, Jamarco Jones, Jordan Roos
- RT: Nicholas Petit-Frere, Andrew Rupcich
- DE: Denico Autry, Jaleel Johnson, Sam Okuayinonu
- DT: Jeffery Simmons, Teair Tart, Naquan Jones, Tyler Shelvin
- EDGE: Harold Landry III, Arden Key, Rashad Weaver, Zach McCloud
- ILB: Monty Rice, Azeez Al-Shaair, Ben Niemann, Luke Gifford
- CB: Kristan Fulton, Sean Murphy-Bunting, Roger McCreary, Caleb Farley, Elijah Molden
- S: Kevin Byard, Amani Hooker, Mike Brown, Josh Thompson
- K: Caleb Shudak
- P: Ryan Stonehouse
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2022 Results and Standings
The 2022 season was a rough one for the Titans even though they had the chance to still win the AFC South entering a Week 18 bout against Jacksonville. General manager Jon Robinson was fired in December after seemingly losing a power struggle with head coach Mike Vrabel, and the offense completely broke down around Henry.
Between their ill-advised trade of star receiver A.J. Brown during the 2022 NFL Draft and their inability to concoct an NFL-caliber passing game with Tannehill, Malik Willis, or Joshua Dobbs under center, watching the Titans’ offense was an awful experience.
The unit trudged to the 28th-ranked scoring offense thanks to an abysmal passing attack. Henry still reached 1,538 yards in 16 games, but it wasn’t enough to carry the team as usual, as the defense took a step backward.
Vrabel was most disappointed in Tennessee’s six one-score losses in 2022, noting that the team lost in the margins as the season progressed. Their seven straight loss included painful missed opportunities, but missing Tannehill for four of their 10 losses certainly contributed to the talent disparity that added up.
With Willis unable to keep Dobbs from starting over him after Dobbs was signed off the street, the Titans’ season was doomed earlier than most could have thought.
The offense simply couldn’t help a defense that ranked No. 1 in stopping the run but dead last in slowing down passing attacks. The Titans were very much a throwback team, weak at throwing the ball and stopping the pass while being excellent on the ground and stopping opposing run games.
Losing 20-16 in Week 18 to the Jaguars was the final dagger in the team’s tumultuous season, costing the Titans the chance to fight in the playoffs.
2023 Power Ranking and Season Outlook
PFN Analyst Dalton Miller has the Titans ranked 27th in his post-draft 2023 NFL Draft Power Rankings. Despite headlining star talent in Jeffery Simmons, Denico Autry, Harold Landry III, Kevin Byard, and Henry, the team’s lack of proven talent around them has created significant uncertainty. The offensive line is the tip of the concern iceberg.
First-round pick Peter Skoronski has been practicing at both tackle and guard, and considering the asset invested in him and his strong collegiate film, left tackle might be his best landing spot. If not, free agent pickup Andre Dillard would start at left tackle, and Skoronski would move next to him at guard. Dillard is an unknown, just like Aaron Brewer is at center and Nicholas Petit-Fere at right tackle.
The lack of playmaking in the receiver room is still a concern despite the splash moments from athletic pass catchers in Treylon Burks and Chigoziem Okonkwo. If Tannehill isn’t able to get back to the super-efficient game manager he was prior to 2022, the looming presence of Levis behind him will become a bigger storyline as the team progresses throughout the season.
New offensive coordinator Tim Kelly, who was the team’s passing game coordinator last year, has his work cut out for him as he takes Todd Downing’s role. Without a star besides Henry, the Titans seem doomed to reproduce an uninspiring offense that has only one way to win.
The Titans have one of the easiest strengths of schedule this year, which could bode well for the team to outperform expectations. But with razor-thin depth along the defense once again, the unit must be fantastic. They crumpled a bit in 2022 due to the secondary’s inability to create turnovers and slow offenses from moving the ball with ease.
Internal growth from cornerbacks Caleb Farley and Roger McCreary would help the unit tremendously. Tennessee is also hoping former 49ers Arden Key and Azeez Al-Shaair are ready for bigger starting roles. If all of those things happen, then this defense can carry an offense that will go back to its tried-and-true recipe of being a low-upside unit that can edge out opponents in ugly contests.
