The Tennessee Titans don't have a very deep roster, but it isn't as bare as some people think.
Not only do the Titans have Pro-Bowlers and All-Pros at key positions, but they have young players who are showing a lot of promise in their development waiting in the wings.
I'm going to go position by position and break down what I think the Tennessee Titans will do, how that room looks, and which player was the hardest cut at that position.
Like everything else in the NFL, you have to start with the quarterbacks.
Quarterbacks (3): Ryan Tannehill, Will Levis, Malik Willis
This one is pretty cut and dry. While there were some questions before the season about whether Malik Willis would even make the Tennessee Titans roster, Willis had taken all the steps to show that he is someone that could still develop into something if he was given time.
Tannehill is the unquestioned starter and Willis seems like he would be the gameday backup for Tannehill because of his experience in the system, but the future of that position on this roster is still Will Levis.
Running backs (4): Derrick Henry, Tyjae Spears, Julius Chestnut, and Jacques Patrick
Derrick Henry is Derrick Henry, and Tyjae Spears seems to be the perfect Robin to his Batman.
Similarly, Chestnut has shown the power, burst, and versatility that you want from a backup running back. While no one will mistake him for Henry or Spears, he has enough good qualities to make him a solid backup or both in a pinch.
Patrick might seem like an odd choice for this list, but he is a strange case. The Titans gave him a two-year deal when they really could have waited a few weeks and brought him in to be the RB4 without needing to guarantee any money for him.
However, the Titans signed him in the middle of August and it feels like they have a plan for him, so I'm going to assume that he makes the opening roster at least.
The hardest cut was Hassan Haskins because he is the best special teams player on the roster and he scored a rushing touchdown in the first week of the preseason. However, Mike Vrabel seems to have him in the dog house and I think the Titans could just move on.
Wide Receiver (6): Treylon Burks, DeAndre Hopkins, Kyle Philips, Chris Moore, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Kearis Jackson
The wide receiver position has been talked about all preseason long, but injuries to Kyle Philips and Kearis Jackson have clouded things.
If everyone is healthy then these are the six I would pick, but if either of them is going to miss time then it changes things.
Kyle Philips has carved out a role as a shifty slot receiver, and if he is out of the lineup then someone like Mason Kinsey could make the roster to occupy that role until Philips was healthy again.
On the other hand, I would tab Reggie Roberson as a guy to replace Kearis Jackson on the roster just because he can occupy the role of boundary receiver/kick returner better than any of the other options on the current Tennessee Titans roster.
Tight End (4): Chig Okonkwo, Trevon Wesco, Josh Whyle, Thomas Odukoya
Chig Okonkwo has superstar potential as a pass catcher this year, and the group around him is built to shine where he struggles.
Both Trevon Wesco and Thomas Odukoya are great run-blockers who can move around and help the Titans in the run game while Okonkwo focuses on creating explosive plays. Now, I should say that Okonkwo isn't useless as a run-blocker and he gives effort so he has to be treated as someone that the offense could run behind.
Similarly, Josh Whyle's massive frame screams run-blocker, but he has the finesse to win as a receiver. While he needs to clean things up, a future duo of Chig and Whyle could make the Tennessee Titans a headache to defend for linebackers and safeties.
Offensive Tackle (4): Andre Dillard, Chris Hubbard, Jaelyn Duncan, Justin Murray
Dillard got a lot of criticism early in the preseason, but through two preseason games, he has been rock solid as the team's starting left tackle.
Hubbard has been up and down, but he has consistently run with the first-team offense in camp, so it is hard to imagine him losing his spot at this point. However, if there is someone that could push him, it is Justin Murray who shined at right tackle for the Tennessee Titans on Saturday.
Still, keep an eye on this group because once Dillon Radunz is healthy enough to take the field he should be an immediate contender for the spot, even if Nicholas Petit-Frere is back by then.
Interior Offensive Line (5): Peter Skoronski, Aaron Brewer, Daniel Burnskill, Corey Levin, Jordan Roos
The first four names are locks here because the trio of Skoronski, Brewer, and Brunskill have put out a lot of good tape with the starters throughout the preseason. Similarly, Levin has done a lot of good things and he is obviously the team's best option as a backup center.
Just like with the tackle position, this feels like a spot where Radunz's return could knock someone off of the team.
Since he will start the season on the PUP list, he will be ineligible to return for the first month, but Justin Murray and Jordan Roos might be battling for the ninth offensive line slot over the next two months.
Defensive Line (4): Jeffery Simmons, Teair Tart, Jayden Peevy, Naquan Jones
Jeffery Simmons and Teair Tart are poised for a dominant season between the tackles. Throughout training camp and joint practices, these two have been wreaking havoc and making life a nightmare for any offensive lineman unfortunate enough to be tasked with blocking them one-on-one.
Behind them, Jayden Peevy has gotten rave reviews from Terrell Williams, and he looks poised to anchor the defense when Tart needs a break.
After that, it was a struggle because what the Titans are looking for in a DT4 should be someone who can come in and give Jeffery Simmons a breather. With Tart backed up by Peevy and (spoiler alert) Denico Autry and Arden Key flexible enough to play some sub-package DT, it just comes down to how well can you handle Big Jeff's assignments.
I picked Naquan Jones even though he hasn't played a snap in the preseason simply because he has experience working with the rest of this defense and working in this system. This position is still up for grabs by anyone wanting to make a push, but so far no one has really stood out to me here.
EDGE (5): Harold Landry, Arden Key, Denico Autry, Rashad Weaver, Caleb Murphy
I think that there could be two Pro Bowlers on this list this year.
Obviously, Harold Landry has been to the Pro Bowl before, but Arden Key and Denico Autry are both in phenomenal positions. In 2021, Autry played like a man possesed when he was on the field with Landry and Simmons, and that was without the addition of someone like Key.
If all four linemen just pinned their ears back and rushed straight forward it would be hard for offensive lines to deal with, but when you factor in how well all four guys can pick and loop when they stunt, it becomes almost unfair.
Behind them, Rashad Weaver continues to get better and better every year and he is going to be a starter in the NFL sooner or later. The young EDGE pipeline continues behind him with UDFA Caleb Murphy showing out in the preseason with a league-leading 3 sacks in two games.
Linebacker (5): Azeez Al-Shaair, Jack Gibbens, Chance Campbell, Luke Gifford, Ben Niemann
It is hard to say whether Monty Rice is in the dog house with Mike Vrabel or if he is just hurt again, but either way, it seems like he is going to get left behind.
While you would want someone to step up and take ahold of the open linebacker spot with Rice out of the picture, the competition has been underwhelming. It seems like Gibbens is going to get to start next to Al-Shaair, but mostly because of what he does on a chalkboard and not what he actually brings to the field.
Campbell and Niemann have both looked better than Gibbens through two preseason games, but it doesn't seem like that is going to matter much in the end. Having said that, the Tennessee Titans have always used a lot of different linebackers over the course of the season, so just making the roster means that we should see them a fair amount this season.
Gifford is the classic special teams linebacker that Mike Vrabel loves to keep on the roster and by all accounts he is as good in the regular season as he was in the preseason. That is a valuable addition and hopefully, he can be more like Darren Bates than Nate Dzubnar.
Cornerback (5): Kristian Fulton, Sean Murphy-Bunting, Roger McCreary, Tre Avery, Eric Garror
Everything from camp and joint practices points to McCreary being pushed inside to the slot. He is getting positive reviews, but if he struggles at any point I would expect the Titans to move SMB into the slot and let McCreary go back to playing on the outside rather than changing up the lineup.
That means that Elijah Molden will be listed as a safety even though he probably should be considered a hybrid at this point.
Behind the starting trio, Tre Avery is once again making plays in camp and he seems like the perfect CB4. Not only does he seem to step up when asked, but he is cheap.
Similarly, Eric Garror has been on an absolute heater throughout the preseason. He has made (multiple) touchdown-saving tackles in the open field, tackles for loss, and pass breakups and he has done all of that while also returning punts.
Safety (5): Kevin Byard, Amani Hooker, Elijah Molden, Mike Brown, Josh Thompson
Like Jeffery Simmons and Teair Tart, Byard and Hooker are poised to be one of the best duos at their position in the NFL.
If Hooker can stay healthy, he is going to make life much easier for this Tennessee Titans defense thanks to his ability to be strong in run support while also having a knack for making plays when the ball is in the air.
Molden's transition to safety is an interesting choice after he was such a unique weapon as a slot corner in his rookie season, but so far the results have been fine. It will take some time to get his feet underneath him, but Amani Hooker made a similar transition when he was drafted so it is going to help to get advice from a veteran who has been through it before.
Mike Brown is a guy who has shown up on special teams and who looks like someone worth checking out as a potential dime linebacker type down the road.
Josh Thompson was a dart throw, but the Tennessee Titans like him and they released veteran safety A.J. Moore when they activated him from the PUP list, so maybe that is a hint as to what they think about him.
Special Teams (3): Morgan Cox, Caleb Shudak, Ryan Stonehouse
Cox and Stonehouse could be Pro Bowlers, but the big question here is what are the Tennessee Titans going to do at kicker.
Shudak seems like he could win this by default, but this is a bottom-five kicker situation in the NFL right now. The Tennessee Titans can't have any confidence that they can consistently kick the ball through the back of the endzone, much less make field goals from more than 40 yards out.
The good news for the Tennessee Titans is that you can find solid kickers on the waiver wire every single year. Just taking a swing and finding an average kicker would be huge for this team, and if they don't make a change it will almost certainly cost them a game at some point this year.
Considering the Titans are in the midst of a seven-game losing streak, I'm not sure that starting off the season slow with a questionable kicker is going to do much for team morale so hopefully Mike Vrabel can make this right before Week 1.