Linebacker David Long Jr. has quietly become one of the unsung heroes on the Tennessee Titans’ defense since being drafted in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL draft.
Coming out of West Virginia, Long possessed a unique skillset, despite being undersized at the linebacker position.
Long, at 5-foot-11, led all Mountaineers with 108 combined tackles, including a staggering 19.5 tackles for loss, during the 2018 season.
Long’s innate ability to get into the backfield has carried over into the NFL, and he has been a significant factor in why the Titans’ run defense went from 19th overall in 2020 to second-best in the league this past season.
He played in 14 games as a rookie, but Long was primarily limited to a special teams role.
In 2020, Long began to seize a starting role in the final six games of the campaign (including playoffs) when filling in for an injured Jayon Brown.
When Zach Cunningham & David Long Jr meets the RB in the backfield at the same time 😍#Titans pic.twitter.com/S3USg2Edm7
— Wes on Broadway (@TitansDraftTape) January 14, 2022
Long once again secured a starting role in 2021, but the Cincinnati, Ohio native missed six games during the middle of the year with a hamstring injury.
During that time, the Titans claimed Zach Cunningham off waivers to bolster their linebacker corps, and with Brown, Cunningham and Rashaan Evans all healthy late in the season, the Titans had four players for two starting spots when Long was healthy enough to return.
However, it spoke volumes about how the organization views Long when head coach Mike Vrabel put the blossoming linebacker right back into his starting role for the final two regular-season games.
“It felt good,” Long said, per Jim Wyatt of Titans Online. “There’s a lot of hard work that goes on behind the scenes, that I, that we, put so much heart into. So, it was good to see it pay off, me getting the spot (back) and me taking advantage of the time I was out there, capitalizing on it. And I plan to continue to do that.”
While stopping the run has always been a strength in his game, Long made strides this season in pass coverage.
He kept quarterbacks to a 70.7 completion percentage and a 61.0 QB rating on balls thrown in his direction, which was a far cry from his sophomore campaign when he permitted a completion rate of 85.3 percent and a QB rating of 110.5.
Thanks to his strong play and improvements across the board, Long has more than proven that he can be an every-down linebacker.
“I have learned a lot since I’ve been here,” Long said . “I just want to continue to get better and continue to stay on time of my health. But there is no limit for me. I think I can be any type of player that I want to be, as far as how great I can be.
“So now it is about fixing the fundamentals, and whatever it might be, to be better, and to stay on the field.”
With Long, Cunningham and 2021 third-round pick Monty Rice under contract for 2022, the Titans are set at the position and can afford to let Brown and Evans walk in free agency.
