The Future Is Bright – Tennessee Titans Preseason Expectations

Things are moving fast for the Titans. With one preseason game in the books, we now have a sense of where this time is at, and more importantly, where they’re going.

What We’ve Seen

The Tennessee Titans traveled to Chicago for week one of the NFL Preseason with one thing in mind: to see what the future holds. With young signal callers Malik Willis and Will Levis taking turns leading the offense, things looked more positive than negative.

Willis lead a touchdown drive that saw him deliver dimes as well as use his legs to score. Willis had pop to his throws and was on time with his passes. He showed the arm strength that makes deep throws look easy and seemed to have more of a command of the offense compared to last season.

His performance wasn’t without flaws though, as he did have an interception on a high throw to rookie tight end Josh Whyle. Willis ended with 189 yards on 16/25 (64%) passing.

Levis lead a touchdown drive as well that culminated in a diving touchdown by second year man Hassan Haskins. Levis showed flashes of what made him a top prospect coming out of Kentucky.

The poise in the pocket and lively arm were on full display for Levis, but he showed the ability to get out the pocket and scramble as well. He lead what was almost a game winning drive, missing on a crosser to receiver Gavin Holmes that lead to an interception to end his day.

His final stat line was 95 yards on 9/14 (64.2%) passing.

There were some other bright spots for the Titans as well. Rookie running back Tyjae Spears looked like the real deal as he ran with the first team on Saturday. Spears had six carries for 32 yards and one catch for four yards. He also added a kick return for 22 yards, showing his versatility as a weapon for Tennessee.

Three unrestricted free agent receivers showed flashes in Chicago, which is huge as receiver depth has been a question mark on this roster. Tre’Shaun Harrison, Holmes and Kearis Jackson all had a productive day. Jackson and Harrison each ended the day with two receptions for 34 yards while Holmes had one reception for 14 yards but routinely won his routes against man coverage.

 

What To Expect

The first week is in the books and the Titans prepare for their matchups against the Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots. Some things to watch for in the next two weeks:

-Starters playing more snaps

-DeAndre Hopkins debut as a Tennessee Titan

-Who builds on their Week 1 performance, Levis or Willis?

-Continued success of the offensive line

The Titans will enter joint practices with the Vikings this week as they gear up for their Week 2 preseason matchup. You can expect some of the starters to get more reps this week, at least a series or two. Players like DeAndre Hopkins could dress though he may not play against Minnesota.

The offensive line that was much maligned in 2022 had a good showing in the preseason opener and could look to build on that against Minnesota. The Vikings have above average pass rushers and this should be a good test for the Titans’ tackles Andre Dillard and Chris Hubbard, who only gave up one pressure against Chicago