Titans training camp: Defensive players with the most on the line

Arden Key, EDGE

Every defense Dennard Wilson has been a part of has had a way of elevating pass rushers. If that holds now that he is a DC, Jeffery Simmons and Harold Landry will benefit from that boost, but the player with the most untapped potential is Arden Key.

Whether he is on the practice field, in the locker room, or in the game, Key has an infectious energy and he can energize Wilson's defense. However, his tangible production has room for improvement.

Key is going to play a lot of snaps for the Titans this season and will be in a position to prove that he is worth the contract that Ran Carthon gave him last offseason. However, he needs to show that he can hold up on early downs while still maintaining his burst when it is time to rush the passer.

If he can do that, it will give the Titans more options to be less predictable in what they are asking their front seven to do. That mystery is a crucial part of what Wilson wants to do on defense because when you bring pressure, it is infinitely more effective if the offense can't tell where the pressure is coming from.

Rashad Weaver, Caleb Murphy, and Jaylen Harrell will be battling it out to figure out who the next EDGE off the bench is, but there is a dropoff in potential from Key to the rest of that group. The more Key can do, the better off the Titans are.