There wasn't a lot of hope going into the season that the Tennessee Titans would be good, but Mike Borgonzi and Chad Brinker put it best when they repeatedly said the goal was "growth" in 2025.
Not only has the team not gotten any better since the first week of the season, but they have gotten worse. Looking at things objectively, the only two players on this roster who should be guaranteed a starting role next year based on their play are Peter Skoronski and Jeffery Simmons. Obviously, Cam Ward will be a starter because of his draft status, but he has struggled to overcome the issues around him as a rookie.
With Ward firmly in place, the front office and the next coaching staff need to be able to identify which players around Ward are solutions to the team's issues and which players are part of the problem.
When contemplating that question, three players come to mind as guys who need to step up and prove that they are long-term solutions for the Titans, so that they can start building around the pieces that work.
J.C. Latham
Moving from the left side to the right side was supposed to help Latham play more comfortably, and losing weight that was making him sluggish as a rookie was supposed to allow him to be more conditioned so he could maintain a high level of play throughout the whole season.
Instead, Latham was banged up in the preseason and has looked fine, but certainly uninspiring. He still lacks any sort of mean streak, and despite being one of the biggest, strongest tackles in the NFL, he plays with too much finesse.
He needs to find another gear, now. No more blaming the hip injury that the Titans have been extremely cautious about; it is the NFL, and everyone is playing hurt by this point in the season. Every NFL player is tough, but he needs to show that he is tough by NFL standards and set the tone for the offensive line as the team's highest-drafted tackle in decades.
T'Vondre Sweat
Another player whose sophomore season has been as disappointing as you can imagine due to injuries, Sweat stepped in and played well in Week 1, only to miss the next five games. So far this season, Simmons has been single-handedly taking care of the middle of the defensive line, but Sweat needs to come in with fresh legs and show that Simmons isn't the only defensive tackle on the team's roster.
If he plays well, the Titans can have a physically imposing defensive line in 2026 that sets the tone for this defense. If he doesn't, then he will prove to be a disappointing use of a second-round pick, and it will put even more on the shoulders of Simmons.
Jackson Slater
This has less to do with Slater and more to do with Lloyd Cushenberry and Kevin Zeitler.
Until last week's disaster against the Las Vegas Raiders, Cushenberry had been steadily improving throughout the season. While I still expect him to end the season as an average or above-average center, nothing can be taken for granted at this point. Zeitler is on a one-year deal, and he was always signed to be a short-term fix.
Ideally Cushenberry rounds into form and Slater takes over for Zeitler after the season, however Slater needs to take any chance he is given to prove that he can be a starter somewhere on the interior in the future. Doing that would take a big concern off of the Titans plate next offseason and it would give Ward some continuity in front of him.