Tennessee Titans defensive lineman Denico Autry flies under the radar far too often, at least outside of Nashville. Titans fans know full well just how good he is, but I’m not sure much of the rest of the world knows it.
Autry was inked by the Titans in 2021, and since then he’s been among the team’s best players and has helped Tennessee sport one of the most fearsome defensive fronts in the NFL in that span.
After tallying a career-high nine sacks in his first season in the two-tone blue, Autry was well on his way to smashing that mark in 2022 after he piled up seven sacks over the first 10 games.
Unfortunately, Autry came down with a knee injury that forced him to miss five of the next seven games, thwarting what was shaping up to be a sensational campaign.
Two NFL analysts who do get it with Autry are Touchdown Wire’s Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar, both of whom listed Autry as the most disruptive 5-tech rusher in the NFL.
Here’s their breakdown of Autry (you can check out the clip referenced below by clicking on the hyperlink above):
5-tech rushers, who do their work right outside the tackle’s outside shoulder, also have to present hybrid skills — because as Greg said, the closer you are to the big guys trying to stop you from killing their quarterback, the tougher it is to just pin your ears back with nothing else in your toolbox.
“The closer you are to the offensive line, the less space you have. Pass-rushers who are quick and fast, they want a runway. They want space. That’s where you get a lot of speed-to-power off the edge from guys who are 240 pounds, who you wouldn’t necessarily think could win with strength and power against 320-pound offensive tackles. But when they have a long runway, they’re able to generate velocity and speed.
“The closer you are to the offensive line, the more you have to win with your hands. The more you have to win with short-area quickness. You don’t have a runway to generate velocity and speed, so it becomes more of a hand-fighting game — more of a short-area quickness game. Those are the things you look for — can you win in a confined space?”
Kansas City’s George Karlaftis was the most disruptive pass-rusher from the five-tech alignment, but as we’re about to discuss Mr. Karlaftis in the next panel, I want to discuss the efforts of Denico Autry of the Titans, perhaps the most underrated pass-rusher in the NFL. Autry had two solo sacks, two combined sacks, three quarterback hits, and three quarterback hurries as a 5-tech on just 79 pass-rushing snaps there. Which is another reason we want to feature Autry here — the Chiefs liked to throw their guys in 5-tech roles more than any other team in 2022; Karlaftis led the league with 133 pass-rushing snaps there, Carlos Dunlap finished second with 119, and Frank Clark finished third with 115.
So, Autry was pretty good with his ratio of disruption to opportunity here. On this sack of Washington’s Carson Wentz in Week 5, Autry started out on left tackle Charles Leno’s outside shoulder, worked quickly inside to left guard Andrew Norwell, and blew the whole thing up. At 6-foot-5 and 285 pounds, Autry is that perfect hybrid disruptor, no matter where you stack him.
On top of raw production, Autry has shown he’s capable of lining up in multiple spots, which only adds to his value.
In a sea of bad moves in recent years by former Titans general manager Jon Robinson, Autry is far and away one of the best moves he made during his entire tenure in Nashville.
The veteran gets the credit he deserves locally but doesn’t get anywhere near enough recognition nationally, making him one of the most underrated players at his position in the league.
And that’s why it’s so great to see him get his props here.
Autry, who is set to turn 33 in July, is entering the final year of his deal, so the Titans will have a decision to make on him next offseason, and his age will no doubt be factored in.
However, if he can stay healthy and produce at the levels he has the last two years, it’ll be a near no-brainer to bring him back for another year or two.
