We’re a little over 24 hours away from finally watching the Tennessee Titans kick off the 2023 season against the New Orleans Saints.
Tennessee is entering this game relatively healthy and should have all of its expected starters on the field, barring any unforeseen developments between now and Sunday afternoon.
Buy Titans TicketsYou can make an argument that this game is being played between two of the most overlooked teams in the league. Both franchises have their fair share of talent on the roster, yet nobody seems to be talking about them heading into the season opener.
Nonetheless, this game has several interesting matchups, including Ryan Tannehill facing the Saints’ pass defense, Derrick Henry vs. the Saints’ run defense, and Mike Vrabel vs. Dennis Allen, just to name a few.
However, this article is mainly going to focus on the battle in the trenches on each side of the ball, as well as some very intriguing individual matchups between the top skill players on each team.
Without further delay, let’s find out which are the four matchups I’ll be keeping an eye on most come Sunday.
Titans O-Line vs. Saints’ front-seven
The biggest question mark heading into the season is trying to figure out what to make of this revamped Titans offensive line.
This is practically an entirely new group than last year heading into Week 1, with Aaron Brewer being the only returning starter — and even he faces his fair share of uncertainty, considering he’s playing a new position (center).
Aside from Brewer, Andre Dillard, Daniel Brunskill and Chris Hubbard were all backups, at best, last year and are now being trusted with having full-time starting roles in 2023.
Arguably the most reliable lineman on the team at the moment is Peter Skoronski, and he’s a rookie who has yet to play a meaningful down in the NFL as of this writing.
“That’s what you try to be as an offensive lineman.”#Titans LG Peter Skoronski on his quarterback calling him Steady Eddy. pic.twitter.com/FtZE61Whkp
— Titans Radio (@TitansRadio) September 6, 2023
Tennessee’s new offensive line has a massive task in front of them as they will have to face a front seven that is spearheaded by Cameron Jordan, DeMario Davis, Carl Granderson and Khalen Saunders.
The Saints also have two former first-round defenders in Bryan Bresee and Payton Turner, both of whom New Orleans is hoping to see big things from in 2023.
With that said, in order for Tennessee to win this game, the team must find a way to prevent Jordan from wreaking havoc.
Over the last two years, the California product has recorded an impressive 125 tackles, 35 quarterback hits, 26 tackles for loss, 21 sacks, eight passes defensed and four forced fumbles.
According to Pro Football Focus, Jordan has also received an average grade of 79.4 over that span.
If the Titans are going to head back to Tennessee 1-0, they must limit Jordan’s impact as much as possible. Otherwise, it could be a long day for Tennessee’s new offensive line, and offense in general.
Titans' D-Line vs. Saints' O-Line
When it comes to the Saints’ offensive line, they have a respectable group that they’ve invested a ton of resources in.
All five of their starting linemen were selected with top-50 picks in their respective draft classes, four of which were first-round picks (Trevor Penning, Andrus Peat, Cesar Ruiz, and Ryan Ramczyk).
As good as that group may look on paper, you could make a strong argument that Tennessee’s D-Line has the edge in this one.
In fact, there aren’t many offensive lines in the league that I can genuinely say have a favorable matchup against a healthy Titans defensive front.
Fun fact: Jeffery Simmons was the 2nd most double-teamed player in the NFL last year, while newly acquired Trevis Gipson was the 5th most double-teamed Edge.
Something’s gotta give this year.
Not to mention Harold Landry, Denico Autry, Arden Key, and Teair Tart are there as well https://t.co/wYt42HP2Ba— Shaun Calderon (@ShaunMichaels31) September 3, 2023
The last time Jeffery Simmons, Harold Landry, and Denico Autry were all healthy and on the field together, they combined for six out of the team’s nine sacks in a legendary 2021 playoff performance, closing out a year where the three of them combined for 35.5 of the team’s 52 sacks (including playoffs).
Too many people are downplaying the impact Harold Landry’s return could have on an already stout #Titans defensive front.
Back in 2021, Landry finished the year with (playoffs included): https://t.co/LnKs8AP464 pic.twitter.com/wAObcwsCGD
— Shaun Calderon (@ShaunMichaels31) September 6, 2023
The Titans also finished with the No. 1 run defense in football last season despite Autry, Landry, and Bud Dupree missing a minimum of five games each, and Simmons was essentially forced to play on one foot over the second half of the season.
If that’s not enough to convince you, Tennessee finished the 2022 campaign tied for the ninth-highest defensive rushing success rate over the last 10 years.
The Titans also replaced an often-injured Dupree with Arden Key, someone who has tallied 90 pressures, 25 quarterback hits, and 11 sacks since the start of 2021, while finishing last season with an incredibly impressive pass rush win rate of 23.2 percent, as well.
Tennessee then found a way to make this group even more impressive by adding another talented veteran defender in Trevis Gipson right before the season began.
Gipson is coming off a dominant preseason, finishing with an elite overall grade of 92.4 after he recorded two sacks and a league-leading 14 pressures in the process, per PFF.
All 7 of Trevis Gipson's sacks in 2021. Dude's a MENACE 😈 #Titans #TickleTickle 🧤 pic.twitter.com/VaLdnWYZmg
— Justin Graver (@titansfilmroom) August 31, 2023
Gipson now joins a team that is schematically better suited for his skill set as he tries to get back to his 2021 form that saw him finish with a respectable overall PFF grade of 70.4 while recording an impressive 24 pressures, 13 tackles for loss and seven sacks.
If the Saints’ offensive line doesn’t come correct on Sunday, it could be a tumultuous afternoon for the entire offense.
CB Kristian Fulton vs. WR Chris Olave
Going into last year’s draft, Chris Olave was one of my biggest prospect crushes.
He’s the definition of a technician at wide receiver who thrives when it comes to the nuances of route-running and it didn’t take a genius to see that his game would translate to the next level. You then add the fact that he ran a 4.39 in his 40-yard dash, and I was sold.
Needless to say, I was hardly shocked to see him produce impressive numbers in his rookie season. In total, Olave tallied 72 catches, 1,042 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
Aside from that, the Ohio State product is coming off a year where he was among the most productive receivers who lined up on the outside at least 65 percent of the time, producing an impressive 2.42 yards per route run along the boundary, per PFF.
Olave did most of his damage on the outside, catching 48 of his 76 targets for 666 yards, two scores and 28 first downs from that alignment. Something has to give on Sunday, though, as he faces a formidable opponent in Titans cornerback, Kristian Fulton.
While the Titans corner may not be a household name, that has more to do with ignorance than actual production. Fulton has only allowed an impressive completion rate when targeted of 52.4 percent since he entered the league.
Fulton also recorded the following numbers in 2022, according to Next Gen Stats:
- Passer rating allowed: 76.2
- Catch rate allowed below expectation: -7.4 percent
- Tight-window percentage: 25.5 percent
- Target rate: 15.1 percent
- Average separation: 2.7 yards
- Targeted Expected Points Added: -12.9
Fulton’s tight-window rate of 25.5 percent helped him record five passes defensed and one interception on 55 targets. His coverage success rate was among the best in the league at 65.5 percent.
This will be a true battle between two young players who are budding stars at their respective positions.
#Titans CB Kristian Fulton had a solid camp and is becoming a leader in a young cornerback group. pic.twitter.com/pTMEZJrtkl
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) September 7, 2023
WR DeAndre Hopkins vs. CB Marshon Lattimore
Back in 2019, these two faced off during a season-opener between the Texans and Saints, and you may recall things got a little chippy. If not, here’s the proof:
Lattimore is going put Hopkins in his place this weekend pic.twitter.com/t5e1HpxCXW
— Barstool NOLA (@BarstoolNOLA) September 6, 2023
According to PFF’s charting, Lattimore covered Hopkins on seven of his 13 targets, with Nuk catching four passes for 51 yards, including two first downs, one touchdown and a 38-yard completion.
DHop finished the day with eight catches for 111 yards and two touchdowns.
This time around, Hopkins will be wearing two-tone blue while Lattimore is wearing the same threads he’s worn while undoubtedly establishing himself as one of the better cornerbacks in the NFL since their last matchup.
DeAndre Hopkins said he's not approaching the matchup any differently. "It's just another game to me. I really don't put too much emphasis on who's guarding me." https://t.co/f0PmXrhnYk
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) September 8, 2023
Hopkins did play against the Saints last season in his first game back from suspension, but Lattimore did not play in that game, which led to Hopkins tallying 10 catches for 103 yards.
If Hopkins can produce similar individual numbers on Sunday, it should help put his team in a position to leave New Orleans with a victory.
