This time of year can be tough for Tennessee Titans fans because the national media has always had a very "out of sight, out of mind" approach when it comes to Nashville.
None of this is new information for Titans fans. It doesn't matter whether the Titans are coming off of being the #1 seed in the AFC or drafting in the top 10, the Titans are going to be the most overlooked team in the NFL's most overlooked division.
At this point, fans should direct all of their attention away from the national pundits and focus on the people who actually keep up with the Titans instead of getting mad over what people who couldn't name five starters for the Titans, think.
As someone who has kept up with the Tennessee Titans this offseason, let me tell you something that you won't hear anywhere else...no one in the NFL has had a better offseason than the Titans.
Anyone who has kept up with me knows that I am not here to blow smoke and to tell Titans fans that everything is going to be ok, all you have to do is look at my draft grades if you have any doubt about that.
Objectively I think there are only three teams that even have a real argument for the best offseason, the Titans, the Houston Texans, and the Chicago Bears. For me, the other two had really good offseasons but no one checked off more boxes, added more talent, or executed their plan better than the Titans.
The Titans looked at what wins championships in the NFL, and for the first time, they systematically attacked the offseason to shape their team to that model.
It all started by hiring Brian Callahan and the coaching staff that came with him.
The entire point of the 2024 season is to develop Will Levis into a franchise quarterback but to do that they had to improve the worst offensive line in the NFL and add talent to a thin group of receivers.
How do you improve an offensive line that needs more upgrades than you can buy or draft? You hire the best offensive line coach in the NFL and you let him tell you what to focus on in free agency and the draft.
Miraculously, the Tennessee Titans actually managed to get that done when they hired Bill Callahan, and the feedback that the front office received was that he could make the right side of the offensive line work, but he needed a new left tackle and a new center.
Ran Carthon took that advice and ran with it by getting the top free-agent center and (slightly reaching) drafting Callahan's favorite tackle with the 7th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Is it going to be perfect? No, but Callahan has a plan and the front office gave him what he needed to succeed, and that should lead to a massive improvement.
As for wide receiver, they went out and stole Calvin Ridley from the Jacksonville Jaguars to play receiver and they brought in Tyler Boyd who is one of the most trustworthy slot receivers in the NFL. Throw those two into an offense that already had DeAndre Hopkins, Chig Okonkwo, and Tyjae Spears, and now you have one of the most exciting pass-catching groups in the NFL.
That would be enough to put them in the conversation for top-10, but let's talk about what they did on defense.
Unfortunately, they did lose Denico Autry and that is going to be a tough loss considering how consistent he was for the Titans. However, people have been overstating his loss because they haven't been looking at the big picture.
New Tennessee Titans DC Dennard Wilson is a Gregg Williams disciple and will blitz...a lot. We aren't going to see four-man rushes with cornerbacks playing 10 yards off on 3rd and 2 anymore, which brings a tear to my eye.
Instead, we are going to see physical cornerbacks jam receivers at the line of scrimmage to give Jeffery Simmons, Harold Landry, Elijah Molden, Arden Key, Kenneth Murray, and T'Vondre Sweat an extra second to get to the quarterback.
For the first time in more than half a decade, quarterbacks that play the Titans defense are going to have to make quick decisions and throw contested passes.
Now, that isn't something that the Titans could have done with Sean Murphy-Bunting and Kristian Fulton. However, when you add one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL in L'Jarius Sneed, and an above-average veteran in Chidobe Awuzie to a group of DBs that already has Roger McCreary and Amani Hooker, now you are cooking with gas.
The Titans have transformed their cornerback group into one of the best trios in the NFL, and they have turned the wide receiver room into a group that is easily top-10 in the NFL. They also have a chance of having the most improved offensive line in the NFL thanks to the best offensive line coach in the NFL and an infusion of premium talent.
Most importantly, they hired a head coach who has been vocal about building an offense around what Will Levis does best instead of forcing him to be something that he isn't. That is going to be crucial in his development and the development of this team, and no one else in the NFL has done as much as the Tennessee Titans have this offseason to improve both sides of the ball with elite talent.