As we continue to reflect on what was a disappointing 2023 campaign for the Tennessee Titans, we turn our attention to how the team’s secondary did in coverage.
The Titans’ defense ranked 18th in passing yards allowed per game and was tied for the eighth-fewest passing touchdowns surrendered. Adding to that, Tennessee’s unit surrendered the sixth-highest passer rating allowed and tallied the fewest interceptions in the NFL.
One of the more talked about issues with this year’s secondary was the amount of explosive plays (20-plus yards) given up. According to data analyst Arjun Menon, the Titans surrendered 52 such plays, ranking 17th.
While the passing yards, explosive plays and touchdowns allowed numbers are middle-of-the-road to good, the pass-rush deserves the vast majority of the credit for any semblance of positivity for Tennessee’s pass defense.
Without an effective rush, those numbers would have been a lot worse, as the secondary was dreadful in coverage when Tennessee’s group upfront wasn’t at its best.
At the very least, the Titans are going to need to add a No. 1 cornerback after the failed Kristian Fulton era. Also, they may need a No. 2 depending on what happens with Sean Murphy-Bunting, who is set to be a free agent.
At safety, it remains to be seen if the Titans will stick with either Elijah Molden or K’Von Wallace as Amani Hooker’s running mate.
On the bright side, the Titans do appear to have their long-term solution at slot cornerback in Roger McCreary, who had an impressive sophomore campaign despite playing at a new position.
But we’ll have plenty of time to talk about all of those things in the coming weeks and months ahead. Here’s the coverage stats of every Titans player who was targeted by opposing offenses in 2023.
Note: Stats in bold indicate a team-high.
CB Roger McCreary
Targets against: 89
Receptions allowed: 64
Completion percentage allowed: 71.9
Yards allowed: 640
Touchdowns allowed: 0
Passer rating allowed: 87.3
Interceptions: 1
Passes break-ups: 5
CB Sean Murphy-Bunting
Targets against: 69
Receptions allowed: 45
Completion percentage allowed: 65.2
Yards allowed: 628
Touchdowns allowed: 2
Passer rating allowed: 91.9
Interceptions: 2
Pass break-ups: 5
LB Azeez Al-Shaair
Targets against: 57
Receptions allowed: 44
Completion percentage allowed: 77.2
Yards allowed: 390
Touchdowns allowed: 1
Passer rating allowed: 100.8
Interceptions: 0
Pass break-ups: 2
CB Kristian Fulton
Targets against: 51
Receptions allowed: 37
Completion percentage allowed: 72.5
Yards allowed: 577
Touchdowns allowed: 3
Passer rating allowed: 129.3
Interceptions: 0
Passes break-ups: 2
S Amani Hooker
Targets against: 43
Receptions allowed: 36
Completion percentage allowed: 83.7
Yards allowed: 427
Touchdowns allowed: 3
Passer rating allowed: 121.6
Interceptions: 1
Pass break-ups: 5
CB Tre Avery
Targets against: 42
Receptions allowed: 32
Completion percentage allowed: 76.2
Yards allowed: 340
Touchdowns allowed: 6
Passer rating allowed: 138.9
Interceptions: 0
Passes break-ups: 0
S Elijah Molden
Targets against: 35
Receptions allowed: 23
Completion percentage allowed: 65.7
Yards allowed: 210
Touchdowns allowed: 1
Passer rating allowed: 79.5
Interceptions: 1
Pass break-ups: 2
CB Eric Garror
Targets against: 28
Receptions allowed: 15
Completion percentage allowed: 53.6
Yards allowed: 124
Touchdowns allowed: 2
Passer rating allowed: 89.0
Interceptions: 0
Pass break-ups: 1
LB Jack Gibbens
Targets against: 23
Receptions allowed: 17
Completion percentage allowed: 73.9
Yards allowed: 168
Touchdowns allowed: 0
Passer rating allowed: 94.1
Interceptions: 0
Pass break-ups: 1
S Kevin Byard (traded Week 8)
Targets against: 21
Receptions allowed: 15
Completion percentage allowed: 71.4
Yards allowed: 181
Touchdowns allowed: 0
Passer rating allowed: 97.5
Interceptions: 0
Pass break-ups: 0
S K'Von Wallace
Targets against: 17
Receptions allowed: 14
Completion percentage allowed: 82.4
Yards allowed: 105
Touchdowns allowed: 1
Passer rating allowed: 112.0
Pass break-ups: 2
OLB Harold Landry
Targets against: 16
Receptions allowed: 14
Completion percentage allowed: 87.5
Yards allowed: 137
Touchdowns allowed: 1
Passer rating allowed: 123.2
Pass break-ups: 0
S Terrell Edmunds
Targets against: 10
Receptions allowed: 7
Completion percentage allowed: 70.0
Yards allowed: 78
Touchdowns allowed: 0
Passer rating allowed: 53.3
Interceptions: 1
Pass break-ups: 0
LB Otis Reese IV
Targets against: 8
Receptions allowed: 7
Completion percentage allowed: 87.5
Yards allowed: 43
Touchdowns allowed: 0
Passer rating allowed: 89.1
Interceptions: 0
Pass break-ups: 0
S Mike Brown
Targets against: 5
Receptions allowed: 4
Completion percentage allowed: 80.0
Yards allowed: 43
Touchdowns allowed: 0
Passer rating allowed: 102.5
Interceptions: 0
Pass break-ups: 1
LB Garret Wallow
Targets against: 4
Receptions allowed: 4
Completion percentage allowed: 100.0
Yards allowed: 30
Touchdowns allowed: 0
Passer rating allowed: 97.9
Interceptions: 0
Pass break-ups: 0
LB Monty Rice (waived Week 14)
Targets against: 4
Receptions allowed: 3
Completion percentage allowed: 75.0
Yards allowed: 33
Touchdowns allowed: 0
Passer rating allowed: 99.0
Interceptions: 0
Pass break-ups: 0
DL Denico Autry
Targets against: 2
Receptions allowed: 2
Completion percentage allowed: 100.0
Yards allowed: 12
Touchdowns allowed: 0
Passer rating allowed: 91.7
Interceptions: 0
Pass break-ups: 0
LB Luke Gifford
Targets against: 1
Receptions allowed: 1
Completion percentage allowed: 100.0
Yards allowed: 8
Touchdowns allowed: 0
Passer rating allowed: 100.0
Interceptions: 0
Pass break-ups: 0
OLB Arden Key
Targets against: 1
Receptions allowed: 1
Completion percentage allowed: 100.0
Yards allowed: 5
Touchdowns allowed: 0
Passer rating allowed: 87.5
Interceptions: 0
Pass break-ups: 0
CB Kindle Vildor (waived Week 6)
Targets against: 1
Receptions allowed: 1
Completion percentage allowed: 100.0
Yards allowed: 7
Touchdowns allowed: 0
Passer rating allowed: 95.8
Interceptions: 0
Pass break-ups: 0
OLB Rashad Weaver
Targets against: 1
Receptions allowed: 1
Completion percentage allowed: 100.0
Yards allowed: -5
Touchdowns allowed: 0
Passer rating allowed: 79.2
Interceptions: 0
Pass break-ups: 0
