Old Faces, New Places – How The Tennessee Titans Can Maximize Their Draft With Free Agency

The Tennessee Titans are one of the most intriguing teams of the NFL offseason.

They are in the middle of a regime change in the front office, and are now trying to right the wrongs of the previous group. New general manager Ran Carthon and Assistant GM Chad Brinker both have ties to franchises with good free agency reputations. If Tennessee hope to be as competitive as they believe they can be, then this time of the year is going to be the most important.

Tennessee has already begun to rectify the cap space issues that looked to plague the team’s offseason. The release of players like long-time left tackle Taylor Lewan, linebacker Zach Cunningham, kicker Randy Bullock, and wide receiver Robert Woods helped to Titans get back into the green with the salary cap. With the combine behind us and the new league year rolling in we can now get a clear picture of how the boys in two-tone blue can approach free agency. 

The Titans have ~$23.6M in cap space, and could possibly have more with the looming release of Bud Dupree. More money means more options and the Titans have a bunch. 

The team needs as it stands today are outside linebacker, interior linebacker, wide receiver and kicker. This is where those team ties of Carthon and Brinker come into play. Players like Mason Crosby, Azeez Al-Shaair, and Robbie Gould could help Tennessee and cut down on the need to spend a draft pick on an unproven commodity. 

Some other names the Titans could target are Orlando Brown Jr, Isaiah Wynn and Jawaan Taylor. 

Getting some of these players to fill crucial roles in the offense and defense would pay off in April. The Titans currently own the 11th overall pick and the value of positions like wide receiver, cornerback and edge are higher than that of offensive line and linebacker. The Titans could avoid players who are older too, seeing as this is a fairly young free agent class. Wynn and Brown Jr are only 26 years of age, Taylor is 25. Tennessee could get the left tackle of the future and lock them in for the next 4-5 seasons and address the retooling of their offense. 

Head Coach Mike Vrabel said in his end of year presser:”you want a fast everybody – you want your d-line to be able to run, you want your corners to be able to run, receivers. It’s a fast game, so that’s what you’re trying to do all the time – find as fast a players that can play football as possible.” 

That being the case the Titans have to hit the ground running and target the holes in this roster to be able to draft that speed. Be on the lookout as this offseason is just beginning for the AFC South franchise and could be one for the ages if maneuvered right.