The Tennessee Titans have high hopes for their linebacker group this year after splurging on Bud Dupree in free agency. This is a unit that should be able to pick up a Titans defense that finished the 2020 season as the No. 24 overall defense.
Here are the linebackers listed on the Titans’ roster:
- Ola Adeniyi
- Davin Bellamy
- B.J. Bello
- Jayon Brown
- Bud Dupree
- Rashaan Evans
- Jan Johnson
- Harold Landry III
- David Long, Jr.
- Wyatt Ray
- Monty Rice
- Derick Roberson
- Tuzar Skipper
- Rashad Weaver
The Tennessee Titans have a lot of upside at the linebacker position.
The Titans gambled on Dupree despite his injury and they hope he’ll be a huge presence in their defense. He’ll be a surefire starter at outside linebacker along with Landry, who is entering his fourth year with the Titans. Landry had 5.5 sacks last year and 16 quarterback hits.
Rounding out the outside linebacker spot, Roberson is probably a safe pick. The UDFA out of Sam Houston State had three sacks as a rookie in 2019. Normally I’d have put Weaver as the other reserve at outside linebacker but he was charged with assault the weekend of the draft. This could complicate things at the position if further action is taken.
At inside linebacker, the Titans hope to see a spark from former first-round pick Evans, whose fifth-year option they did not pick up. Evans needs to have a good year if he wants to land a solid contract. Brown re-signed with the team after totaling 76 tackles last year and having over 100 the previous season.
Long and Rice are the likely backups and Rice was probably drafted in the third round as an insurance policy for Evans. If the former Crimson Tide linebacker continues to underwhelm, the Titans can lean on Rice moving forward.
The biggest issue at linebacker right now is Weaver’s legal issues. The Titans clearly believed this guy could come in and make an impact right from the jump and now they might not be able to see that happen. This brings back terrible flashbacks to the Isaiah Wilson selection a year ago (though Weaver was a fourth-round pick).
Tennessee fans have a lot to be excited about at the linebacker position and if the legal issues with Weaver subside, Titan Sized’s own Geoffrey Knox wrote that the team has upside with Weaver.