No Tennessee Titans player had a better first snap of the preseason than Femi Oladejo. He sniffed out a jet sweep and notched a physical tackle for loss to give the Titans some much-needed momentum on defense.
Since that play, Oladejo's tape has been less than inspiring. When he wants to bull rush offensive tackles, backup linemen are easily anchoring against him and stalling him out before he gets close to pressuring the quarterback. On stunts, he isn't as tight or violent as he needs to be to make them effective, so it ends up opening lanes for the quarterback rather than impeding him. Then there are times where he is clearly struggling to read what's in front of him.
Does Oledajo have talent? Absolutely, but he doesn't seem to be much better than he was last year, when he was a non-factor before ending up on season-ending IR.
Tennessee Titans sophomore EDGE Femi Oladejo needs to start showing progress... now
Oladejo is currently either the fourth or fifth EDGE on the depth chart, depending on how the Titans are using John Franklin-Myers. The team expected more out of him than that when they spent a second-round pick on him in the 2025 NFL Draft, and he has the tools to be better.
With joint practice against the Chicago Bears and the preseason finale over the weekend, Oladejo will have opportunities to change the narrative and earn a spot higher on the depth chart. However, he is running out of chances, and if he wants to be someone that the team doesn't look to replace in the offseason, he needs to take steps in the right direction soon.
If you want to be optimistic, there is a good chance that Oladejo would look much better on a second-team defensive line with Keldric Faulk on the other side, but he hasn't had that chance yet because the team has been resting Franklin-Myers in preseason games. It's also possible that he and Faulk will play similar roles for Robert Saleh's defense.
However, considering how thin the offensive lines are in the NFL, playing against backups should be enough of a boost for Oladejo to make an impact in a preseason game. So if he is going to attempt to climb up the depth chart and be one of the team's best young players, that all has to start sooner rather than later, and he is running out of chances.
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