NFL Notebook: 2025 Tennessee Titans Preview

The Titans have fallen on hard times over the last three years. After a solid stretch from 2016-21 where they posted six consecutive winning seasons and made four playoff trips, Tennessee has been in steady decline and bottomed out last year at 3-14. That disaster got them the first overall pick in the draft. A mess at quarterback has been the principal cause of the decline, and the Titans used that pick on Cam Ward. It’s time to start a new era in Nashville.

THE DEFENSE: STRENGTH UP FRONT; TROUBLE BEHIND

Ward is the headliner, and his success or failure will define the season, but the building block is the defensive line. With T’Vondre Sweat on the nose, and bracketed by ends Jeffery Simmons and Sebastian-Joseph Day, Tennessee is steady in the trenches. The issue is whether there will be enough playmakers to behind them to make a difference.

Arden Key is a decent outside linebacker. The same goes for Amari Hooker at strong safety. But are they playmakers who can turn a game on its head? Then you have the flat-out weak points, with big holes at the OLB spot opposite Key, on the inside, and at corner. The defense ranked 30th in the league for points allowed last year, and it’s difficult to see substantial improvement this year. That front trio is looking like lonely warriors.

POLLARD’S LONEY HEROICS

Speaking of lonely warriors, Tony Pollard deserves enormous credit. The running back, working behind a weak offensive line and the aforementioned mess at QB, still ran for 1,000 yards and averaged better than four a pop. He also caught 41 balls. What could Pollard do if there were some pieces around him?

FREE AGENT REPAIR WORK

To that end, Tennessee invested in the offensive line in free agency. They gave Kevin Zeitler, one of the NFL’s best guards, a one-year deal. Left tackle Dan Moore, while not great, can still be a stabilizing force at left tackle. He got a four-year contract. The line won’t be spectacular, but they can be competitive.

A young quarterback also needs some receivers, and the Titans signed Tyler Lockett. The 32-year-old wideout had been on the decline for a couple of years in Seattle, but it’s still a nice veteran addition to help Ward develop. Calvin Ridley is another reliable target.

While the situation Ward is stepping into has its challenges, that’s the nature of the beast when you’re the first overall pick—by definition, you’re stepping into a mess. Framing our discussion with those expectations, we can say that Tennessee has some workable building blocks in its offensive supporting cast.

OUTLOOK

Tennessee’s hopes for 2025 rest exclusively on whether Ward can do for them what Jayden Daniels did in Washington last year, and that’s put a mediocre-to-bad team on his shoulders. That’s a rather large ask, and I wouldn’t bet on it. More realistically, you’d like to see Ward show clear signs that he’s “the guy” and then continue the rebuilding project. Betting markets put the Over/Under for wins at 5.5. Getting to six victories, double last year’s total, would be a good achievement for this team. But I wouldn’t bet on that either.