At one point last season the Tennessee Titans were 7-3 and looking like a lock to make the playoffs. It all came crashing down as the Titans lost their last 7 games to finish 7-10. Part of the reason the Titans struggled was due to the ankle injury that Ryan Tannehill suffered in week 7. He was never able to get back to full health and the team was forced to play rookie Malik Willis who wasn’t ready yet. This will be a big year for Tannehill and the Titans. Will he bounce back and lead Tennessee to the playoffs? Let’s break that down further and offer a record prediction for the 2023-2024 season.
The Good
All-pro running back Derrick Henry once again led the NFL in rushing attempts at 349 in 2022. It’s understandable why considering the issues at quarterback and the lack of explosiveness on offense. The Titans ranked 2nd to last in avg. explosive run rate and avg. explosive pass rate according to Sharp Football. Despite the below average offense, Henry was still able to rack up 1,936 all-purpose yards in 16 games. Henry is still in his prime but in order for him to continue to be successful he needed some help.
The Titans decided to turn to the 2023 NFL Draft to get Henry the help he needs. They selected Tyjae Spears from Tulane in the 3rd round. Spears is exactly the type of change-of-pace back this offense needed. It’s hard to judge too much from preseason games but Spears was impressive in his first action with the team. If you watched Tulane closely this isn’t a huge surprise as Spears averaged 4.10 YAC in his college career. At 5’10” size is a concern but as of now, he will be an ideal backup for Henry.
The Bad
In back-to-back drafts now the Titans have drafted quarterbacks in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. First, it was Malik Willis last year and then it was Will Levis in this year’s draft. It appears that Tennessee like the rest of us has doubts about Ryan Tannehill going forward. I don’t mind that the Titans are looking for their next quarterback but if they really felt it was a weakness they should’ve moved up in the draft. Willis still doesn’t look ready and there are questions about Levis and if he can succeed at this level.
The Prediction
The Titans are one of the toughest teams to predict for the upcoming season. On one hand, they have several all-pro players including Jeffery Simmons and the recently acquired DeAndre Hopkins. On the other, all of that won’t matter if Tannehill can’t provide better production from the QB position. I do think they will finish slightly above .500 but it will be just short of the playoffs.
2023 Record: (9-8 2nd in the Division)
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