Matt Williamson judges the Tennessee Titans roster

The Tennessee Titans have done a very good job rebuilding their roster this offseason, and anyone who has seen these rosters before and after should be able to see that.

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It is one thing for someone like me to look and see the changes on the roster, because I will notice even the smallest changes. For example, I will be watching the battle at left guard very closely because I know it was an issue last season.

However, someone at ESPN or NFL.com may not look too deeply into the roster when they are judging the team at the surface level. Unless the Titans changed quarterbacks, got a blue-chip player, added a big name, or drafted a skill position player highly it was always going to take a little bit of time for those big news outlets to really see the roster changes.

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Luckily, Matt Williamson is one of the first people to really get into the roster and look at it post-draft. He recently took a look at it for TPS and these are some of the things he had to say:

“While this roster, especially on offense, has been overhauled in what seems to be a very positive manner, Tennessee still has a lot of work to do. ..

…This front office deserves credit. Finding roster holes on offense isn’t easy to do; the organization has set up Marcus Mariota to succeed.”

First of all take a second to re-read that second quote. That is a huge statement for a team last year that had big question marks at basically every position except for tight end.

You really have to agree with them. On offense they have a veteran who knows the system (Douglas), a young player with a lot of talent (Dorial Green-Beckham), a true number #2 (Matthews), and a dangerous slot (Wright).

On the offensive line, they have a very talented left tackle, a healthy competition at left guard, a veteran center, a right guard who should be an above average player in a run-first offense, and a talented rookie right tackle.

Obviously everyone knows about the running back group already and the Titans have one of the best tight end groups in the league.

Of course they finally have an answer to the biggest question in football: do you have a franchise quarterback? Marcus Mariota seems to be an emphatic yes at this point so Matt Williamson is right on the money so far.

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Now, he does think that the defense has some deficiencies in the secondary which is fair:

“The Titans have infused the defense with some rookies as well, but considering the state of this group — specifically the secondary — you would think that Tennessee’s front office will dedicate the 2017 offseason to defense.”

I think there may be some upside to this group that he isn’t talking about. For example, Jason McCourty should be healthy now which makes a big difference. Also, adding Rashad Johnson at free safety should upgrade two positions (now that Da’Norris Searcy can go back to SS).

Add to that the two rookie cornerbacks and the talented free safety Kevin Byard, and I think that is a pretty good chance that one of those three players ends up making an impact on the defense by the end of the season.

However, there isn’t a real playmaker at that position and with Jurrell Casey, Brian Orakpo, Derrick Morgan, and Avery Williamson all standing out in the front seven, that secondary does look a little weak.

After his review he called cornerback, safety and defensive line the biggest weaknesses on the team.

Like I said, I can see the first two lacking an elite playmaker, but if you think a defensive line with Jurrell Casey, DaQuan Jones and Austin Johnson isn’t a strong unit I would urge you to go re-watch Jones who has some really nice plays.

I think you could make the argument that they need a young rangy linebacker or another outside wide receiver (if DGB doesn’t develop) but other than that I think they have average to above average talent everywhere.

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