The Tennessee Titans secondary will be one of the best in the NFL in 2020.
The Tennessee Titans have had some solid pieces in their secondary for some time now. Just look at a recent timeline of the moves Jon Robinson made to bolster that position.
In the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft they selected Kevin Byard, who is now their leader and best player on defense.
Just one year later in the 2017 NFL Draft, they used their first round pick to select Adoree Jackson, CB from USC. Byard and Jackson have been key pieces in the Titans secondary since they have been drafted.
This year, the Titans used the draft to build their secondary once again. In the second round, they selected Kristian Fulton, CB from LSU. Fulton was graded by the majority of analysts as a first round talent. So, although Fulton comes to the Titans as a second round pick, he has the expectations of a first rounder.
I believe that Kristian Fulton can live up to these expectations though. At 6’0 197 lbs, he has good size for an NFL cornerback. He is fast and athletic enough to keep up with some of the faster receivers in the league, but big enough to not give up position to some of the big-bodied receivers. Fulton, when added to the Titans already strong secondary, could potentially be a dark-horse candidate for defensive rookie of the year.
Forced incompletion% among CBs 2010-19
— PFF (@PFF) May 13, 2020
1. Casey Hayward - 19.3%
2. Adoree' Jackson - 18.4%
2. Ross Cockrell - 18.4%
4. Malcolm Butler - 17.5% pic.twitter.com/BCMv9TuqSS
As you can see, the Titans already have two of the top 4 corners when it comes to breaking up passes, according to PFF. The Titans pass defense has slowly been coming together of the past few years, and 2020 is the year that they will finally be one of the best in the league.
Adoree Jackson, who only played 11 games last season, is going to come out hungry for interceptions. Jackson had 0 interceptions last season in 11 games played. You should look for 2020 to be a breakout season for Jackson.
Pair Jackson with Malcolm Butler, Super Bowl hero, and the rookie Kristian Fulton and you have a trio that is not to be reckoned with. It doesn’t stop there, though. The Titans have one of the best safety tandems in the league. Kevin Byard is the best safety in the league, and next season will be a chance to prove that. He will look to return to his 2017 self when he had 8 interceptions.
It’s almost not even fair that Byard gets to ballhawk behind this secondary, but then you add Kenny Vaccaro who while he might not have had his best season last year, is very underrated as a safety. He will look to turn things around next season and go back to his former self that only allowed a 53.1% completion percentage when targeted in 2018.
The Tennessee Titans have the talent to have a top 3 pass defense in the NFL in 2020. I think they will do just that. With an improved pass rush, the secondary will not have to cover for near as long as they did in 2019. This will be a relief on them and the pressure from the line might even lead to a few extra interceptions.