The Tennessee Titans opened up the preseason with a win on Saturday night against the San Francisco 49ers. The Titans’ starters got a couple of possessions to play, and most of them performed as well as hoped.
In the second half, the backups and those at the bottom of the depth chart got to show what they can do. The reserves did enough to ensure the Titans escaped with a win, and a few of those backups could be playing their way onto the roster.
Today, let’s grade each position group based on its performance against the 49ers in preseason Week 1.
Tennessee Titans report card
Quarterbacks: B
Will Levis only attempted five passes but completed four of them for 35 yards. The only thing to nitpick is that Levis took a big hit that could have been avoided, but it was overall a solid performance.
Mason Rudolph looked exactly like what the team wanted him to look like. The veteran completed 10-of-17 passes for 126 yards. Rudolph did lose a fumble, but that was the only mistake by him.
Malik Willis had a very Malik Willis-esque performance. The quarterback often bailed out and scrambled for yards instead of waiting for routes to develop. Overall, the QB completed 5-of-7 passes for 38 yards and led the team with 42 rushing yards. It would’ve been nice to see the QBs give the receivers more opportunities, but none of the passers had a bad performance by any means.
Running backs: C-
Newcomer Tony Pollard impressed in his Titans debut, taking four carries for 35 yards. Tyjae Spears found the end zone but had just two yards on three carries.
Hassan Haskins had the best game among the reserve backs, taking eight carries for 27 yards. Julius Chestnut and Jabari Small were unfortunately held back by a poor performance from the reserve offensive linemen.
It would’ve been nice to see more out of the depth guys, but it was hard given how the line played. Small and Chestnut both averaged 1.8 yards per carry, ultimately holding this group back from a better grade.
Wide receivers: C-
The leading pass-catcher for the Titans was backup running back Julius Chestnut, who had two catches for 37 yards. Among wide receivers, Mason Kinsey had the best showing with two catches for 29 yards.
Kyle Philips made the most of his chances, catching all three targets for 18 yards. Calvin Ridley caught one of his two targets for 22 yards, showing his big-play ability.
Treylon Burks, Sam Schnee, Bryce Oliver, and Jha’Quan Jackson each had one catch. Nobody did poorly, but nobody stood out, either. The bottom of the roster needs to have a couple of wide receivers step up in the next couple of weeks.
Tight ends: B-
There’s no question that Chigoziem Okonkwo is the starter at tight end, and the team expects a big season out of him. Josh Whyle is also expected to play a big role in 2024.
However, the standout from this position on Saturday was UDFA David Martin- Robinson. He caught two passes for 30 yards in a nice debut performance.
Thomas Odukoya has impressed in camp and caught his only target. Veteran Nick Vannett didn’t play, which gave the younger tight ends ample opportunity to shine.
Offensive line: C
The starting offensive line would get an A, and the backup line would likely get an F. Hence, a C for the overall grade.
It was encouraging to see the projected starting line perform well. None of the starters allowed a pressure or sack in the game, per Pro Football Focus. The pass-blocking was better than the run-blocking, but it was a solid performance as a whole.
The backups were a different story. The only sack and two QB hits were allowed by the reserves. The running lanes were also non-existent in the second half.
Lachavious Simmons, who is battling for a job, also had a silly penalty in the second half that drives coaches crazy. Nobody in the second or third unit stood out, and that’s a problem.
Defensive line: B
All eyes were on rookie T’Vondre Sweat after he had been dominating in camp. Unfortunately, the rookie struggled to make an impact as he was facing double-teams for many of his snaps.
Every rep from T’Vondre Sweat’s #Titans debut…
What do you notice?? #TitanUp pic.twitter.com/53ncIdsCP7
— TicTacTitans (@TicTacTitans) August 12, 2024
The backup defensive linemen had more luck, though. Marlon Davidson collected three tackles, Keondre Coburn had two tackles and 0.5 sacks, and Quinton Bohanna and T.K. McClendon Jr. both added a tackle of their own. The unit did a fine job of stifling the Niners’ ground game, allowing just 67 rushing yards.
Edge rushers: C
None of the edge rushers looked especially impressive against the Niners. Caleb Murphy had a couple of tackles, and Shane Ray, Arden Key, and Jaylen Harrell each had one. UDFA Khalid Duke was the only edge rusher to collect a sack in the game.
With Key’s impending suspension, one of these edge rushers needs to step up. There are still two games left for that to happen, but it was disappointing that Weaver, Ray, or Harrell didn’t have more of an impact.
Linebackers: A
Chance Campbell had arguably the most impressive performance of anybody on either team. The linebacker racked up nine tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss, one pass defense, and got the game-sealing interception.
Otis Reese also had a nice game, landing four tackles and a tackle for loss. James Williams and Kenneth Murray Jr. both got a couple of tackles and one QB hit.
For a position group that once seemed to be a weakness, it was encouraging to see so many players contribute. This could be an intense position battle to monitor over the coming weeks.
Cornerbacks: C-
This unit will look much different when Chidobe Awuzie and L’Jarius Sneed are on the field. Without the veterans on Saturday, there were some less-than-ideal drives from the young guys.
Niners receiver Tay Martin had no problem getting separation, ending with five catches for 58 yards. Trent Taylor came down with three catches for 48 yards.
None of the Titans’ corners forced a turnover, and only Jarvis Brownlee Jr. and Tay Gowan had a pass break-up. UDFA Gabe Jeudy-Lally did collect four tackles, but the coverage as a whole was mediocre.
Safeties: D
Like the corners, you have to remember this group will look much different when the veterans are playing. Amani Hooker got a tackle in his limited snaps, while Elijah Molden had two tackles of his own.
UDFA Keaton Ellis had the best performance of the safeties with three tackles. Mike Brown and Matthew Jackson, who are both fighting for one of the final spots, failed to record any statistics. Jackson’s no-show is disappointing considering the former UDFA had been impressing in camp.
Special teams: B
Nick Folk, who has been incredibly reliable as the Titans’ kicker, missed a 52-yarder in the second quarter. That was the only FG attempt for the veteran, but Folk did hit both of his extra-point attempts.
Ty Zentner had a decent punting performance, booting it twice for an average of 46.5 yards. Brayden Narveson nailed his only FG attempt, a 34-yarder.
Both returners were impressive, with Kearis Johnson returning a kickoff 63 yards and Jha’Quan Jackson running a punt back 26 yards.
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Publish date : 2024-08-11 13:00:00
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