Titans banking on rookie to save their pass rush (but it just might work)

The Tennessee Titans endured a rollercoaster of defensive play over the 2024 season. One which ended with an extremely disappointing result. While there are many contributing factors to Tennessee’s defensive inconsistency, one sticks out far more than the rest. The Titans have starkly the worst pass rushing unit in the entire NFL.

Getting pressure from a front seven is arguably the most important aspect of an NFL defense, and Tennessee has consistently set themselves up for failure in that aspect. Fielding a declining Harold Landry and Arden Key as their primary edge rushers in addition to a concerning lack of depth at the position was a recipe for disaster. Despite having one of the strongest interior pass rushing groups in the league, the Titans lack of edge talent was too debilitating for even a Jeffery Simmons and T’Vondre Sweat duo to overcome. 

The newly revamped front office clearly recognized this gaping hole in the roster, and decided to invest top-end draft capital into the position. After trading back from No. 35 in the 2025 NFL Draft, Tennessee selected former UCLA pass rusher Olwuafemi Oladejo with the 52nd overall pick. After spending borderline top-50 caliber draft capital on him, the Titans will need him to turn the edge unit around in a hurry.

One of the most unique prospects in last year’s draft class, Oladejo played primarily inside linebacker for most of his collegiate career before switching to edge rusher midway through his senior season. While his background at off-ball linebacker helps contribute to his already diverse skillset, adjusting to NFL-caliber completion after only playing his position for a handful of games will present a monumental learning curve.

The Titans' lack of depth at EDGE became a bigger concern this week following Lorenzo Carter's abrupt retirement. Oladejo was receiving first-team reps at Wednesday's debut training camp practice, per Turron Davenport. The Titans are fairly reliant on Oladejo to help fix the pass rush this season.

What Oladjeo brings to Tennessee’s front seven

Oladejo experienced a meteoric rise up draft boards in the later-half of the 2025 draft cycle. Most of this can be attributed to the league’s obsession with “ceiling” and his untapped athletic potential (especially at the position where athletic traits have the clearest translation to success). 

During the pre-draft process, Oladejo was often labeled as “raw” due to his lack of time as a pure edge rusher. His film backs up this label thoroughly (at least as a pass rusher). The first and most obvious thing that pops when watching his college film is his outrageous athleticism. Standing at 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds, his frame isn’t necessarily anything to write home about. However, his play strength and closing burst most definitely are.

Oladejo’s play strength shines the most when defending the run. Partially thanks to his background as an off-ball linebacker, he excels as both a play-side and back-side run defender. His ability to stack-and-shed combined with his strength and athleticism make him an already NFL-level run defender off the edge.

While Oladejo’s run defense is a positive addition, Tennessee’s run defense wasn't necessarily a glaring weakness. He was added with the intention of overhauling the pass rushing unit. His pass rushing profile is easily the most interesting facet of his evaluation. 

Oladejo strikes a strange balance between being technically raw in some areas while also being shockingly advanced in others. While it doesn’t make it any less impressive, his devastating speed-to-power is unsurprising when analyzing his athletic ability. However, despite only being a pass rusher for single digit games, he also possesses a lethal cross-chop. These two pass rushing moves make up virtually the entirety of his pass rushing arsenal.

Another move that Oladejo flashed was a dip and rip to beat offensive tackles around the corner. While bend is not a cornerstone of his game, he is surprisingly flexible when beating tackles to the outside shoulder. While he didn’t use it as often as he maybe should have, this move also worked as an effective counter when his first pass rusher move was stonewalled.

Where Oladejo needs refinement

Although some of Oladejo’s pass rushing moves look like he’s been playing edge rusher his whole career, his timing is in need of significant improvement. Despite his cross chop being one of his most effective moves, he often uses it too early in the rep, allowing offensive tackles to retract their hands and stonewall his rush. In addition to this, he also has a tendency to arrive at the point of attack reckless and out of control with little to no pass rushing plan.

As a result, Oladejo often lacks a go-to counter move when offensive tackles shut down his initial plan. While most of his wins are dominant wins, this typically means he wins immediately or doesn’t win at all. 

In all fairness to Oladejo, each of his negatives as a pass rusher are well within expectation for a player who has only been playing edge rusher for half of a season. Despite some areas of concern, he is still far more technically advanced than a player brand new to the position should be. The Tennessee coaching staff will look to further refine his technique and turn him into a bonafide number one edge rusher.

How Oladejo fits into the Titans defense

In an ideal world, Oladejo would be given time to be more of a rotational piece in an NFL edge room while he takes time to develop and learn the position. Unfortunately, the Titans’ edge room is in such dire straits that he will be forced into a starting-caliber snap count from near day one. Growing pains are sure to come alongside his premature introduction to NFL-caliber competition. 

Regardless of how Oladejo performs in the beginning stages of his career, it’s important to remember that his selection was one for the future. Even if his rookie season play turns out underwhelming, if given time to refine and develop as a pass rusher, he could become a cornerstone piece in rebuilding Tennessee's defensive line.