The Tennessee Titans are in the spotlight right now because they could potentially be the team that signs All-Pro WR DeAndre Hopkins, but there is a reason why this feels unfamiliar for Titans fans.
With the growing collection of decision-makers and collaborators in the Tennessee Titans front office, it seems like this is a team that is going to be built around hitting doubles instead of swinging for the fences in the early stages of the offseason.
That isn't a bad thing, in fact, those smart, under-the-radar moves really set the Tennessee Titans up to be in a position to take a small swing like this in June.
By patching up the rest of the roster in free agency, the Tennessee Titans left the 2023 NFL Draft with only one massive red flag. Stop me if you have heard this before, but the wide receiver position was far and away the worst position group on this roster.
That might still be a fatal flaw for this team if they don't find a way to address it before the season starts, but if they do manage to sign DeAndre Hopkins then the Titans will have lucked into a fantastic offseason.
Looking back, these are my three favorite under-the-radar moves that the Tennessee Titans made this offseason.
1. Signing Andre Dillard and Daniel Brunskill instead of Jawaan Taylor
Former Jacksonville Jaguars right tackle Jawaan Taylor signed a deal with the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency for a whopping $20 million per year. Considering that he generally falls into the "pretty good" category and not the "Pro Bowl/All-Pro" category, that is a baffling decision by the Chiefs, but it is one that could have easily happened to the Titans.
Carthon was tasked with rebuilding the offensive line and he would need to replace three starters (left tackle, left guard, and right guard). Looking back on it, the only two safe players were tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere and Aaron Brewer who has become a Mike Vrabel favorite.
Instead of swinging for the fences on a big name to fill Taylor Lewan's shoes, Carthon decided to plug two positions for roughly half the price.
The end result was that Andre Dillard and Daniel Brunskill will start at left tackle and right guard this season. With Dillard making $9.7 million per year and Brunskill making $2.8 million per year, their combined $12.5 million AAV looks like an absolute steal compared to what it would have cost to sign Taylor or even Mike McGlinchey.
2. Stealing Arden Key from the Jacksonville Jaguars
So far every clip, press conference, and interview has made the Arden Key signing look like a bargain for the Tennessee Titans.
The Titans snatched Arden Key from the Jacksonville Jaguars and Key suggested that the reason he didn't re-sign in Jacksonville is because they didn't view him as a starter on defense. So, instead of being a role player, he moved to Nashville where he is going to start opposite Harold Landry.
Key is making $7 million per year, which is almost nothing for an EDGE. To put that in perspective, DeMarcus Walker was someone that the Titans picked up off of the scrap heap in the middle of May and he just got a deal for $7 million per year in free agency.
While Key will get starter snaps now, it is worth noting that he makes the Tennessee Titans' third-down package very dangerous. With Jeffery Simmons in the middle and Harold Landry on one side, Shane Bowen will move Key and Denico Autry around in order to create mismatches.
This is quietly one of the best defensive lines in the NFL if everyone is healthy, and a great defensive line can help you win a lot of games in the modern NFL. However, to get the most out of this line the Titans had to go out and get someone with some juice on the other side of Pro Bowl EDGE Harold Landry.
Not only did the Titans manage to do this, but they did it in a cost effective way that should fill a need in 2023 while also solving the problem of replacing Denico Autry down the road.
3. Hiring Chad Brinker, Anthony Robinson, and Sarah Bailey.
Obviously, this isn't a free agent signing or a draft pick, but I think the addition of these three is more important than any signing or pick the Titans made this offseason.
New Tennessee Titans GM Ran Carthon has been almost exclusively involved in the pro side of the business. Ask anyone in the NFL about him and they will say he is a great guy who is going to do a fantastic job. However, he isn't going to be able to spend the entire season evaluating and projecting the value of potential free agents as he could in the past and he is going to have to figure out what the title of GM means outside of the offseason.
That is why the addition of Chad Brinker is so smart. With the Green Bay Packers, Brinker was the salary cap guru and the Assistant Director of Pro Scouting. His expertise in free agent evaluation and contract design will take a lot of pressure off of Carthon.
Another issue with Carthon being so focused on the pro side of things, he just doesn't have the credentials of someone that you want running your draft.
Do you know who does have those credentials? Anthony Robinson who was the former Director of College Scouting for the Atlanta Falcons and who is now the Assistant GM in Tennessee. His draft classes (especially the first round) are fantastic, and he will get his chance to have a real say in what the team does from here on out.
Rounding out the key people in the Tennessee Titans front office is Sarah Bailey. Bailey is an analytics expert who is coming in from the L.A. Rams.
In L.A., she was tasked with researching and filtering data about anything involved with the product on the field. She took that data and helped the Rams' analytic department develop intelligent plans and ideas about everything from who they wanted on the field to what they wanted to call.
This trio of talented people should all be able to collaborate to give the Tennessee Titans a Voltron-like front office. As long as the group can build a consensus, it should mean fewer busts and more solid hits as the Titans try to quickly rebound from their terrible 2022 season and establish themselves as contenders again.