What’s changed with the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars since their last game
By Will Lomas
Key departures
Telvin Smith is bar far the biggest name on this list because he was one of the best defensive players in the AFC South for such a long time. His sideline to sideline range as a linebacker helped cover up for the more bruising Paul Posluszny.
He was a wildcard that often seemed to be the guy at the second level that dictated whether or not there was a big play in the run game based on if he got blocked or not.
Blake Bortles is another big name, but his departure probably hurts the Titans more than it helps given how friendly he was to Tennessee over the course of his career. There is slightly less risk of the Titans getting tested deep, but not much.
It is easy to forget about Marcedes Lewis because he was a great blocking tight end in a league where the ability to get vertical and beat defenses with YAC was so important. However, against some of the pass rushers that the Titans have, you can bet that the Jaguars are going to miss him.
One of the more slept on story lines with the Jaguars is that they lost their best running back in free agency last year when TJ Yeldon joined the Buffalo Bills. That could lead to a less supportive rushing attack for the Jaguars.
Finally, starting safeties Tashan Gipson and Barry Church are now gone. While that doesn’t necessarily scare anyone based on their play, communication is huge for DBs and the fact that the Jaguars desperately struggled with the Kansas City Chiefs was probably (partially) caused by that disruption.