Are 2024 Titans starters better than their 2023 counterparts?
By Will Lomas
With general manager Ran Carthon in charge, you can never say for sure, but it seems like the Tennessee Titans' 53-man roster is now mostly set for the 2024 season.
There will be changes to the bottom of the roster as the season progresses, but the starters and rotational players should be largely solidified entering Sunday's Week 1 date with the Chicago Bears.
With the hay in the barn, now is the perfect time to look at the Titans' starting lineup and compare it to what they had in 2023.
It is easy to assume that they are a better team across the board, but where are they better and where have they taken a step back?
Quarterback
2023 starter: Ryan Tannehill
2024 starter: Will Levis
Ryan Tannehill had some great years with the Titans, and it is unfortunate that he will never get the respect he deserves. Playing with Derrick Henry didn't help, nor did Tannehill's nightmare performance in the 2019 AFC Championship Game.
However, the 2023 version of Tannehill just didn't have the same juice that previous seasons had. After being hampered by a bad ankle injury the year before, and being stuck behind yet another terrible offensive line, Tannehill wasn't set up for success.
As a rookie, Will Levis started nine games for the Titans (one fewer than Tannehill), but he had more passing yards, more touchdowns, fewer interceptions, and the same number of wins. Even Levis haters have to admit that the position is in better hands now.
Result: Better in 2024
Running back
2023 starter: Derrick Henry
2024 starter: Tony Pollard
The Titans ran the ball too much last season and Derrick Henry had a more declining skill set than the coaching staff wanted to admit, but Henry is still one of the best running backs in NFL history.
There is an argument to be made that having two interchangeable "B+" level running backs that can roll in and out of the lineup without tipping off your plays to the defense is better than having one "A+" running back that everyone keys on immediately, but Henry is going to get the nod here.
Result: Worse in 2024
Wide Receiver/Tight End
2023 starters: DeAndre Hopkins, Treylon Burks, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Chig Okonkwo
2024 starters: DeAndre Hopkins, Calvin Ridley, Tyler Boyd, Josh Whyle
Treylon Burks still has a chance to develop into a usable player if he can stay healthy and improve this season, but there is a simple rule to remember here. If the starters from last year are still on the team, but aren't starting, it is because the Titans found better players to start over them.
Result: Better in 2024
Offensive Line
2023 starters: Andre Dillard, Peter Skoronski, Aaron Brewer, Daniel Brunskill, Chris Hubbard
2024 starter: JC Latham, Peter Skoronski, Lloyd Cushenberry, Dillon Radunz, Nicholas Petit-Frere
This isn't even a fair fight.
Andre Dillard was arguably the worst left tackle in all of football last season. Aaron Brewer had size deficiencies. JC Latham and Lloyd Cushenberry project as massive upgrades. If Dillon Radunz and Nicholas Petit-Frere form a starting-caliber duo on the right side, the Titans' offensive line will be vastly improved.
Result: Better in 2024
Defensive Line
2023 starters: Jeffery Simmons, Teair Tart, Kyle Peko
2024 starters: Jeffery Simmons, T'Vondre Sweat, Sebastian Joseph-Day
Titans fans sometimes have quick memories, and they seem to have forgotten that Teair Tart was a good player for a while. However, Sweat looks like he has superstar upside and Sebastian Joseph-Day is a better, more well-rounded player than Kyle Peko.
Result: Better in 2024
EDGE
2023 starters: Harold Landry, Denico Autry
2024 starter: Harold Landry, Arden Key
This is the opposite of what happened at wide receiver for the Titans this offseason. Arden Key was Denico Autry's backup (or at least the guy who played fewer snaps), and Autry and Harold Landry both racked up double-digit sacks last season, so this is a step down for the defense.
Result: Worse in 2024
Linebacker
2023 starters: Azeez Al-Shaair, Jack Gibbens
2024 starters: Ernest Jones IV, Kenneth Murray
Titans fans were kicking themselves when the team didn't re-sign Azeez Al-Shaair because it meant more Jack Gibbens in 2024, but then the Titans traded for L.A. Rams linebacker Ernest Jones IV and things instantly got better.
PFF grades aren't everything, but Al-Shaair was PFF's 37th-best linebacker and Jones was their seventh-best linebacker last year. That checks out, and that matches up with what you see when you watch the Rams defense from 2023.
Result: Better in 2024
Cornerback
2023 starters: Kristian Fulton, Sean Murphy-Bunting, Roger McCreary
2024 starters: L'Jarius Sneed, Chidobe Awuzie, Roger McCreary
Like offensive line, this isn't even close. L'Jarius Sneed and Chidobe Awuzie are far better boundary cornerbacks than Krisitan Fulton and Sean Murphy-Bunting are. Their arrival also means Roger McCreary can focus on being a nickel corner.
Result: Better in 2024
Safety
2023 starters: Kevin Byard, Amani Hooker
2024 starters: Quandre Diggs, Amani Hooker
Unlike cornerback, this matchup is interesting. Kevin Byard and Quandre Diggs are the same age, and they are coming off somewhat down seasons. Having said that, Diggs had three straight Pro Bowl seasons before his down year whereas Byard's previous seasons have been more up and down.
That consistency and a better-supporting cast make me feel slightly more confident in the 2024 situation than the 2023 situation, but it is nearly a push.
Result: Better in 2024
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