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An Overview of the Tennessee Titans Defense
The Titans can hang their hats on a stingy pass defense that gave up the fewest yards in the league in 2024. It is good that they have a starting point because there is plenty of room for improvement everywhere else. The run defense was leaky at 4.5 yards per carry. Tennessee allowed the third most runs of 20+ yards and the most of 40+. They were middle of the pack with 18 turnovers and 29th with 32 sacks.
Coming off a 3-14 season, there were a lot of holes to fill on both sides of the ball. It doesn't help that the Titans are cap-strapped to boot. They entered free agency looking for clearance shelf bargains and came up with three players who will start in 2025. It will be a surprise if any of them are still with the team in 2026. Tennessee hopes to have solved the quarterback problem in round one, but they may have landed a couple of guys in rounds two and three who will start early.
This organization is in the early stages of a rebuild. All things considered, they have a better shot at earning a top-three pick in next year's draft than a playoff berth in 2025.
Tennessee Titans Defensive Linemen
Odd-front defenses normally rely on the edge positions to supply the pass rush. The Titans were an exception in years past. They got 26.5 sacks from their interior linemen in 2022 and 19 from those positions in 2023. In 2024, the total was 9.5. Jeffrey Simmons accounted for 5 of them.
Simmons is a foundational player that the team can build around. He is one of the best in the NFL at the position and is among the most dependable options in the fantasy game. It took the 2019 first-round pick a couple of years to get going. He hit his stride in 2021. That season, Simmons was 43-12-8.5 with six batted passes and ranked sixth among tackles. He followed that with 54 combined stops, 7.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and seven pass breakups in 2022, for a rank of twelfth.
Simmons missed the final five games of 2023 with a sprained knee. When he was injured in week thirteen, he ranked fourth among tackles. He was back in 2024 with the best production of his career. At 41-35-5 with 4 turnovers, and 4 swatted passes, Simmons checked in at number three, just seven points short of top billing. He will be 28 when training camp opens and still has several good years left. Hopefully for him, Simmons will be around long enough for the team to become contenders again. For us, he is set to be a perennial top-twelve IDP option for the next few years.
Sebastian Joseph-Day signed on ahead of last season. He earned the title of starter at the outside tackle spot opposite Simmons, but ended up in a timeshare with James Lynch. Joseph-Day had a productive 2022 with the Rams, posting 56 tackles and 4 splash plays. He has never come close to those numbers again and is unlikely to in 2025.
If we get value for a second Tennessee tackle, it will come from last year's second-round pick, T'Vondre Sweat. Sweat is a six-foot-four, 366-pound mountain. He is not quick, fast, or athletic, but demands double teams on virtually every snap, and most of those still don't move him. He got to the quarterback just once as a rookie and is unlikely to make much improvement in that area going forward. Sweat did, however, total 51 tackles. Toss in a forced and recovered fumble, and Sweat checked in at number 30 at the position. He is not draft-worthy in most formats but is a player to snag as depth or even a decent second starter if he comes out hot in September.
When your team is held to 32 sacks in a season, it's not a great idea to release the guy who led the team with nine and a half of them. That's what Tennessee did, releasing Harold Landry III in March to free up some money. The loss leaves veteran journeymen Arden Key and Dre'Mont Jones as the expected starters at the edge position.
When Key signed with the team in 2023, it was his fourth stop in six seasons. Until last year, he had never exceeded 30 combined stops or 6.5 sacks in a season. Key blew by those numbers, but his 24-17-6 was not enough to garner attention from fantasy managers, even with the three turnovers. On the other hand, it is worth mentioning that Key's two most productive years have been with Tennessee. If he continues to improve, this might be the year he finally becomes roster worthy.
A move inside might make Jones more productive. Shorthanded as the Titans are on the edge, it's not going to happen. He is a solid run defender who does a good job of setting the edge and turning plays in, but Jones is average as a pass rusher. What we are likely to see is Jones on the field on early downs, with rookie Femi Oladejo getting most of the passing down snaps.
The numbers Jones has put up over his six NFL seasons tell us rather convincingly that he is not an IDP option. There is hope that Oladejo can be. He was an off-ball linebacker for most of his college career before switching to the edge last season. He's raw at the position with a lot to learn. Oladejo is twitchy and aggressive when getting upfield, plays off blocks well, has linebacker range, and a nose for the ball. Interestingly, many of the same traits that Landry has. It might take a year or two, but Oladejo has the makings of a highly productive NFL starter. Tuck him away on your taxi squad if you have that option.
- Edge Arden Key – Could be roster worthy as depth
- Edge Dre'Mont Jones – Marginal value at best
- Edge Oluwafemi Oladejo – Dynasty sleeper
- Edge Jaylen Harrell – No impact expected
- Edge Lorenzo Carter – No impact
- DT Jeffery Simmons – Top tier DT1
- DT Sebastian Joseph-Day – Marginal impact at best
- DT T'Vondre Sweat – DT3 with a little upside
- DT Keondre Coburn – No impact
- DT Carlos Watkins – No impact
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