7 Reasons to be excited for the upcoming Tennessee Titans season

6. The defense got better

The Tennessee Titans defense ranked 8th last year in total defense thanks in part to one of the best run defenses and a shutdown pass defense led by the best safety in the league in Kevin Byard.

Although there were key losses to the defense in Brian Orakpo‘s retirement and Derrick Morgan not being re-signed, the Titans got better on defense.

It started with signing Cameron Wake from Miami, then continued by drafting Jeffery Simmons in the first round of the draft. Those moves were followed up by selecting David Long, D’Andre Walker, and Amani Hooker later in the draft.

Simmons won’t be able to play for a while due to suffering a torn ACL before the draft, but when he’s able to return, he will give the Titans another solid piece on an already mean defensive line along side Jurrell Casey.

As for Hooker, many looked at him as being one of the possible steals in the draft. He plays smart football, has good speed, and excels in zone coverage. He’s been compared to fellow teammate Logan Ryan, who is an impending free agent after this season, so he has an opportunity to step in and fill that nickel position.

Long and Walker will also offer sideline-to-sideline hard playing football, and should contribute on special teams as well.

Don’t forget about Harold Landry and Rashaan Evans either, as they will look to improve on their rookie seasons and continue to progress on the edge and outside backer positions respectively.

As for the defensive backs, Kenny Vacarro was brought back after playing well enough last year to earn a multi-year contract to play alongside Byard. With those two guys holding down the deep part of the field, one has to feel comfortable with Jackson, Butler, and Ryan continuing to improve under the defensive scheme led by Kerry Coombs and Dean Pees.