The Tennessee Titans’ season has come to a nauseating end following their disappointing loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars that concluded a disastrous seven-game losing streak to finish the year.
It should go without saying that this losing campaign is not what anybody envisioned just one year after the Titans were a bona fide Super Bowl contender that had home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
This season was an unfortunate step back from getting to where they want to be, but there were a few bright spots scattered throughout the injury-riddled Titans roster.
This article is going to highlight a few individuals who deserve to be praised for their efforts during a lost season.
There were times when the season looked bleak and hopeless, yet these individuals, along with a few others, kept fighting as much as they could to keep the team relevant in the playoff race.
Without further ado, let’s dive right into the end-of-year awards for the 2022 season.
MVP: RB Derrick Henry
This one is relatively easy.
King Henry had inconsistent help all around him throughout the entire 2022 season. Yet, somehow the future Hall of Famer nearly totaled 2,000 yards from scrimmage on the year (1,936 total yards).
Simply put, Henry did not deserve the overall product that surrounded him this year, but he thrived despite it, minus fumbling issues. The team really needs to figure something out fast because they cannot afford to waste Henry’s final year of his contract, as well as the final year of his 20s.
Offensive Player of the Year: QB Ryan Tannehill
This decision was made pretty much by default because the offense was an inconsistent disaster for much of the year.
Nonetheless, you can say a lot of things about Ryan Tannehill, but one thing no one can ever do is question his toughness or doubt how much he cares about this football team.
There were several games that the Titans’ quarterback probably shouldn’t have been out there, but he fought through any discomfort to give his team a chance up until he physically couldn’t any longer. And we grew to appreciate him even more after the offense played even worse under Malik Willis.
Tannehill finished the year with just 2,536 yards, 13 touchdowns, and six interceptions in 12 games, but it’s hard to blame him too much with everything going on around him.
Defensive Player of the Year: DE Jeffery Simmons
Giving Jeffery Simmons the defensive player of the year award is bittersweet because there’s a “what if” factor involved.
Over the first eight games of the year, the Mississippi State product looked every bit like a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate (the real one).
Unfortunately, as the star defender later went on to admit, he suffered an ankle injury that was much worse than any of us could fathom. Simmons claimed that he had been shooting his ankle up since Week 8.
Uncoincidentally, it was from that moment on that his play steadily took a decline. Nonetheless, Simmons at 70 percent is still better than the average defensive linemen in the NFL.
Despite the nagging injury, the Pro Bowl defender still played in 15 games, totaling a respectable 54 tackles, nine tackles for loss, and 7.5 sacks. He also earned added respect for battling through injury to stay on the field for his team.
Special Teams Player of the Year: P Ryan Stonehouse
Deciding who to give this recognition to was one of the easier decisions on the list. As you probably know by now, the undrafted rookie out of Colorado State had a record-breaking rookie season in Tennessee.
The California native went on to break an 82-year-old record for the highest gross punting average over an entire season in NFL history.
Stonehouse shattered Sammy Baugh’s single-season record from 1940 after averaging 53.1 yards per punt, nearly two whole yards more than Baugh’s previous high of 51.4 yards per punt.
Needless to say, the Titans found a diamond in the rough in Stonehouse.
Rookie of the Year: TE Chigoziem Okonkwo
Speaking of finding hidden gems, the Titans hit a home run with the selection of Chigoziem Okonkwo, who was the final pick in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL draft.
The Maryland product, who was one of the most explosive tight ends in the NFL, led all rookie tight ends in receiving yards (450) and touchdowns (three) this past season.
Okonkwo finished with 3.0 yards per route run, second to only Miami Dolphins superstar wide receiver, Tyreek Hill (minimum 100 routes). His three yards after the catch over expectation was first among both tight ends and wide receivers.
Couple impressive stat nuggets here on #Titans rookie TE Chig Okonkwo, courtesy of @ZebraTechnology and @NextGenStats: pic.twitter.com/v7dybHyBPw
— John Glennon (@glennonsports) January 11, 2023
Okonkwo has all the makings of a special player and figures to be a major focal point of the offense for the foreseeable future.
Honorable Mention: QB Josh Dobbs
Before this article ends, I think it’s fitting to give Josh Dobbs a small shout-out for what he did at the end of the year. No, the veteran quarterback didn’t lead the team to a division championship or anything of that nature.
Nevertheless, despite the Tennessee product joining the team late in the year, he stepped right into a disastrous situation and gave the fanbase a sliver of hope again during a time when it had none.
Dobbs likely played himself into a backup quarterback contract somewhere in the league, and I think many Titans fans would embrace it if he got that chance in Tennessee in 2023.
