Former league executive and current ESPN analyst, Louis Riddick, recently shared his thoughts on the Tennessee Titans’ immediate future following the recent signing of wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
When asked whether or not the Titans were in the midst of a rebuild, Riddick emphatically made a case for why a Mike Vrabel-led team is much closer to competing in 2023 than it is a rebuild (H/T Taylor S Hurst on Twitter).
“In talking to [Titans general manager] Ran Carthon last night, they (the Titans) have a championship-caliber defense,” Riddick said.
“They have a defense that will keep them in games and they have one of the best coaches in the NFL in terms of making tactical decisions on the fly, in the fourth quarter, in crucial moments, as there is in the NFL.”
Tennessee is coming off a season in which the team finished with the No. 1 run defense in the league, only allowing a measly 76.9 rushing yards per game on the year — and that was despite multiple injuries upfront.
In fact, the Titans actually ended up with one of the stingier run defenses of the last decade.
According to True Media Sports, via The Athletic’s Nate Tice, the Titans finished 2022 with the ninth-highest (tied) defensive rushing success rate over the last 10 years, producing a successful defensive run stop on 69.8 percent of their snaps.
it has to be emphasized just how good the Titans run defense was last year.
their defensive rushing success rate (higher = good) was at 69.8%. Tied for the 9th-best rate since 2013 (via @TruMediaSports) and one of the best marks in years. pic.twitter.com/TFuCePxsOP
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) June 23, 2023
Tennessee’s defensive production — including in the secondary, which was the biggest issue on defense in 2022, mostly because of injuries — should only improve as long as the unit can stay healthy.
Later in the segment, Riddick continued his analysis of Tennessee with a look at the offense, noting the team has “many of the other components” in place on both sides of the ball now that Hopkins is signed, but he believes the biggest question lies at quarterback.
“It’s not a rebuild”
I’ve been saying it all offseason and the signing of DHop proves my point.
At least in the front office, the mentality in the #Titans organization is they wanna win now. #NFLLive #ESPN pic.twitter.com/F2rufMmoAu
— Taylor S Hurst (@TitansMan97) July 19, 2023
Everything that Riddick stated about the defense is completely factual, yet, for whatever reason, the Titans’ defense constantly gets overlooked.
To be perfectly honest, as intriguing as the addition of Hopkins is, getting the Titans’ defensive front four back in the fold is probably the biggest win of the offseason.
The last time a Mike Vrabel-led defense had its primary front four together (2021), the group accounted for 52 sacks on the year, 35.5 of which came from the trio of Landry, Jeffery Simmons, and Denico Autry.
Unfortunately, all three of them battled injuries of their own a season ago, each missing multiple games over the course of the 2022 campaign.
The Titans also chose to replace an oft-injured Bud Dupree with Arden Key, a talented and reliable pass-rusher who has tallied 90 pressures, 25 QB hits, and 11 sacks since the start of 2021, all while being limited to a rotational role.
The resurgence of Tennessee’s defensive front alone should be enough to make the team competitive again if everything goes according to plan.
You then add that reality with the fact that the rest of the defense is healthy and highly motivated to field a good product and suddenly the potential upside becomes very intriguing to anybody willing to pay attention.
Based on the fact that we’ve seen quarterback Ryan Tannehill help lead the Titans’ offense to elite heights during past regular seasons when he has the proper help in place, he’s not really the biggest question mark on offense.
Instead, it’s the offensive line, a group that is set to welcome three new faces and four new starters when you consider Aaron Brewer is moving from left guard to center. And you can make it five new starters with right tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere suspended for the first six games.
However, if that group can improve from the league-worst offensive line that plagued the offense in 2022 (that shouldn’t be difficult), and the defense can stay healthy upfront and in the secondary, the Titans should return to their perch atop the AFC South in 2023.
