There is certainly plenty of optimism surrounding the Tennessee Titans as they prepare for the 2020 season after a 2019 campaign in which the team made an improbable run to the AFC Championship Game.
But there are still some questions left to be answered before we can consider them a Super Bowl contender, so let’s take a look at what those questions are.
1. Who calls the plays on defense?
After the retirement of former defensive coordinator Dean Pees, the Titans decided not to name a new defensive coordinator for 2020.
This has led many to believe that head coach Mike Vrabel might call plays on the defensive side of the ball, which is a cause for concern considering Vrabel hasn’t exactly proven to be the best decision-maker even when his attention isn’t on one side of the ball.
It’s possible the Titans go the way of the New England Patriots and use a committee to run the defense, but we have no indication either way what Tennessee will do right now.
2. Will the pass-rush improve?
If the Titans don’t end up landing Jadeveon Clowney in free agency, there will be a big question mark regarding the team’s pass-rush in 2020.
Tennessee’s downfall last season was its inability to get consistent pressure on the quarterback, which led to the loss in the AFC Championship Game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
To help that, the Titans signed Vic Beasley in free agency, who has shown flashes of being a dominant pass-rusher but has failed to do so consistently during his career.
Getting pressure off the edge isn’t the only concern, though.
The Titans’ defensive line also failed to get to the quarterback consistently enough, and now that same unit will be without Jurrell Casey, who was traded to the Denver Broncos earlier this offseason.
Jeffery Simmons should make a leap in his second year, but it remains to be seen who will play alongside he and DaQuan Jones, and if that player will provide sufficient pass-rush to change things upfront.
If the Titans are really going to turn the tide in the pass-rush in 2020, signing Clowney or the next best pass-rusher in free agency between now and the start of the season could be the true difference.
3. Can Logan Ryan be replaced?
There’s no question Logan Ryan wasn’t effective enough in the slot last season, but the Titans still have to make sure they at least match what he was able to do in coverage and when asked to blitz. Perhaps most importantly, his leadership will be sorely missed.
While it appears the Titans have pegged Kristian Fulton to at least spend some time at slot corner in 2020, there’s simply no telling how effective the rookie will be in such an important role.
There are other options, though. The Titans could use Amani Hooker there, as the Iowa product was an elite slot corner in college.
General manager Jon Robinson has also floated the idea of using Adoree’ Jackson as the nickel corner, however his importance on the boundary can’t be understated and it’ll be impossible to replace him on the outside if he’s in the slot.
4. Is Greg Joseph the answer?
The Titans were able to overcome the league’s worst field goal unit in 2019 thanks to the offense’s ability to score touchdowns at a ridiculous but unsustainable rate.
That’s not something Tennessee can depend on for 2020.
Greg Joseph figures to emerge as the starting kicker again after taking part in a competition with UDFA kicker Tucker McCann in camp.
But beating out an inexperienced rookie kicker won’t add much confidence that he is indeed the answer the Titans need. Only adding a veteran to the competition and Joseph still winning it can do that.
Joseph has attempted just 21 field goals during his short career, and only one of those came as a member of the Titans last season. Until we see Joseph actually get it done in games, questions will linger about his viability, no matter who he beats out for the job.
5. Can Jack Conklin be replaced?
With Jack Conklin now in Cleveland, the Titans have a big hole to fill at right tackle in 2020. While Conklin no doubt had his issues in the two years prior, he was an elite right tackle in 2019, particularly in the run game.
In order to fill the void, the Titans will have a competition at right tackle between Dennis Kelly and 2020 first-round pick Isaiah Wilson.
While Wilson is a total wild card, Kelly has shown he can step into a starting role at right tackle before, as he did so in 2018 in place of an injured Conklin. However, Kelly’s performance that year was compared to a faltering Conklin, who had struggled in both 2017 and 2018.
Can either one of those players match what Conklin did in 2019?
6. Is Ryan Tannehill for real?
There is plenty of evidence to prove that Ryan Tannehill is more than just a guy who hands the ball off to Derrick Henry and gets out of the way, as we’ve outlined in countless articles this offseason.
The Titans needed Tannehill to put together his best season as a pro in 2019 in order to climb out of a 2-4 hole. Hopefully, Tennessee can get off to a better start in 2020 to give Tannehill more leeway.
Even if Tannehill regresses from his insanely efficient 2019 campaign, there is plenty of room for him to still play at a high level and we’ve seen him put together solid seasons in the past with far less help around him.
If Tannehill can match what he did last season, the Titans will easily be a double-digit win team.
The good news is that Tannehill is in the perfect system to re-create his success from a season ago and continue to thrive, but before we jump the gun and proclaim him the answer, we’d like to see him do it one more time.
7. How will the defensive line take shape?
We already know that Jeffery Simmons is slated to take the role that Casey left behind when he was traded to the Broncos earlier this offseason, and that DaQuan Jones is the second starter upfront.
However, there’s still a question as to who will play alongside those two.
For now, the top candidates seem to be 2019 UDFA Isaiah Mack, veteran free-agent signing Jack Crawford, and 2020 fifth-round pick, Larrell Murchison.
There will no doubt be a competition in camp for snaps, but this is a role that could be split up between two or three of players. The edge will likely go to whoever can display the best pass-rush skills, as getting pressure from the D-line was a major problem last season.
8. Will A.J. Brown avoid a sophomore slump?
Without the incredible contributions of A.J. Brown in 2019, the Titans might not make the playoffs — it really is that simple.
In 2020, Brown enters his second season in the NFL and will have high expectations, but we can never rule out a sophomore slump for any young player.
The good news here is that Brown has room to regress from the insane efficiency he saw in his rookie campaign to still have a great season.
He’ll have a full 16-game slate with Tannehill at quarterback after having just 10 contests last year with the Titans’ starting quarterback. Brown didn’t really turn up the heat until the quarterback change in Week 7.
Also, being more consistent week-to-week will help, as a lot of his damage came in the final six weeks of the regular season when he had four of his five 100-yard games.
