By this time of year, most NFL clubs have their 90-man rosters set as they patiently wait for training camp to begin, while others are trying to identify any missing pieces the team can realistically add beforehand.
When it comes to the Tennessee Titans, many believe wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is the veteran addition that could potentially put this particular team back into the playoff conversation.
However, Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus took a different approach in a recent article where he names one move that each team should make before training camp.
Spielberger somewhat surprisingly believes the Titans’ top priority should be going after veteran defender, Kyle Van Noy. The PFF analyst stated the following:
The New England Patriots released Van Noy heading into the second season of a two-year, $12 million contract, and he greatly outperformed his one-year, $2.25 million pact with the Los Angeles Chargersfor 2022. The savvy veteran has played both as a true off-ball linebacker and more near the line of scrimmage rushing the passer in the past two seasons, offering a unique and valuable skill set to potentially interested teams while earning grades above 60.0 in every facet in 2022.
The Titans moved on from Bud Dupree this offseason and lost DeMarcus Walker to free agency, and while they added Arden Key, he figures to kick inside on pass-rushing downs and brings a very different skill set than Van Noy. The veteran provides pass-rush ability off the edge and can play some off-ball linebacker, which isn’t a strong suit of the current Titans roster.
Many may have expected an addition on the offensive side of the ball here, which is entirely understandable, but if the defense is expected to be the strength of this team in 2023, shoring up the unit would make sense, as well.
While I largely disagree with his choice, I can at least understand the logic. If the Titans are going to be championship contenders in 2023, the defense is going to have to lead the way.
Tennessee’s best chance as of right now is to field a defense that is going to hold opponents to a reasonable score each week so the offense doesn’t have to drop 30 just to have a chance at winning.
Nevertheless, the Titans’ starting defense already looks strong on paper, but the same cannot be said about the other side of the ball.
Jeffery Simmons
Harold Landry
Denico Autry
Arden KeyAzeez Al-Shaair
Monty RiceKevin Byard (🙏🏽)
Amani Hooker
Kristian Fulton
Sean Murphy-Bunting
Roger McCrearyIf the #Titans complete the SMB signing, their defense looks strong on paper.
Especially that front four pic.twitter.com/zMygRfyp0q— Shaun Calderon (@ShaunMichaels31) March 19, 2023
This move would undoubtedly help the defense, as Van Noy has the ability to rush off the edge and play off-ball linebacker, but acquiring him isn’t going to suddenly mask the Titans’ issues in the passing game.
Tennessee currently has 12 wide receivers on its roster who have a combined 16 career receiving touchdowns between them, and the group is seriously lacking depth overall. Adding Van Noy isn’t going to help change that.
While this type of defensive signing would obviously be welcomed should it become a reality, if it’s at the expense of signing another competent wide receiver, this is something that Tennessee should probably pass on.
