The Tennessee Titans entered the offseason needing to upgrade their pass rush. Dennard Wilson's unit produced the third-fewest sacks in the NFL last season. New general manager Mike Borgonzi responded by adding a number of EDGEs to the roster via free agency and the draft.
Borgonzi's biggest gamble occurred when he signed veteran defensive end Dre'Mont Jones to a one-year contract worth $8.5 million. Jones was slated to immediately step into the starting lineup opposite Arden Key. Rookie Femi Oladejo was selected during the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft to play a rotational role.
Fast forward two contests into the 2025 campaign and both Jones and the Titans' pass rush has been totally ineffective. Both veteran starters haven't been productive. The Titans may already regret the decision to sign Jones in the offseason.
Titans EDGE Dre'Mont Jones is looking like an offseason mistake
Wilson's defense has produced two sacks in two games, tied for second-worst in the NFL. Jones has zero. ESPN Analytics has the Titans' pass-rush-win-rate (PRWR) at 33%, 23rd-best in the league. Even that feels generous.
Jones ranks second on the Titans in pass-rush snaps with 61, according to Pro Football Focus. Despite the opportunities, he's recorded just one quarterback pressure in two games. For comparative purposes, rotational defensive end Jihad Ward has three pressures in far fewer (17) snaps.
PFF has Jones' individual pass-rush-win-rate at 8.8%. Even using their 20% minimum pass-rush-snaps qualifier, that ranks 128th in the league. The only thing more pathetic is that both Key (6%) and Oladejo (5.3%) have been even worse, though Jones has been less efficient, considering he's had the most opportunities.
The Titans signed Jones because they believed he'd help them impact opposing pockets with more consistency. Borgonzi and Wilson wanted the defense to get bigger and stouter on the edge. The veteran rusher has been totally invisible, inefficient, and ineffective through two games. The Titans require more production from Jones, otherwise he's already looking like an offseason mistake.