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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Mike Moraitis

Analyzing Titans’ first unofficial depth chart of 2022

On Monday, the Tennessee Titans revealed their first unofficial depth chart of 2022 ahead of their first preseason game on Thursday against the Baltimore Ravens.

Before we get to the details, it’s hard to glean too much from the very first depth chart, especially when the Titans will do just about anything to keep information close to the vest.

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However, there were a few interesting things of note to talk about.

In order to not give away anything in terms of who is winning the starting competitions in camp, the Titans used slashes to denote co-starters in some spots, and there’s one very interesting one at the starting cornerback spot.

That’s just one of the noteworthy things we see on Tennessee’s first unofficial depth chart of 2022. Here’s a look at the entire depth chart on offense, defense and special teams, and a little analysis for each.

Note: Depth chart pecking order goes from left to right, and then down to the next row and from left to right again.

Offense

George Walker IV-USA TODAY Sports
Starter Backup Backup
QB Ryan Tannehill Logan Woodside Malik Willis
RB Derrick Henry Dontrell Hilliard

Jordan Wilkins

Hassan Haskins

Tory Carter (FB)

Trenton Cannon

Julius Chestnut

WR Robert Woods Kyle Philips

Mason Kinsey

Dez Fitzpatrick

Terry Godwin

Brandon Lewis

WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine Treylon Burks

Cody Hollister

Racey McMath

Josh Malone

Reggie Roberson

TE Austin Hooper Chig Okonkwo Briley Moore
TE Geoff Swaim Tommy Hudson Thomas Odukoya
LT Taylor Lewan Christian DiLauro Jalen McKenzie
LG Aaron Brewer/Jamarco Jones Xavier Newman
C Ben Jones Corey Levin Hayden  Howerton

Willie Wright

RG Nate Davis Jordan Roos Andrew Rupcich
RT Dillon Radunz/Nicholas Petit-Frere Carson Green

Takeaways

The Titans have slashes between Radunz and Petit-Frere at right tackle, and Brewer and Jones at left guard, denoting that neither competition has been decided yet.

Petit-Frere is the only Titans rookie on offense to sniff a starting spot on the depth chart, which isn’t unusual, as Tennessee has typically put its rookies in backup spots on past early depth charts.

Treylon Burks and Kyle Philips are listed as the backups to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Robert Woods, respectively. Haskins is far down among running backs, also.

The Titans have opted to use two starting tight end spots on their depth chart instead of a third wide receiver spot. Hooper and Swaim are listed as the starters there, with Okonkwo and Hudson as the primary backups.

At quarterback, Willis falls behind Woodside for the No. 2 job. We’ve expected that would be the case all along, as the Titans are unlikely to want Willis one injury away from seeing the field before he’s ready. And, from all accounts, Woodside is doing a god job earning the No. 2 role.

Defense

AP Photo/Mark Humphrey
Starter Backup

Backup

DE Denico Autry DeMarcus Walker Da’Shawn Hand

Larrell Murchison

NT Teair Tart Naquan Jones Jayden Peevy

Haskell Garrett

DT Jeffery Simmons Kevin Strong Sam Okuayinonu
OLB Bud Dupree Rashad Weaver
OLB Harold Landry Ola Adeniyi Justin Lawler

David Anenih

ILB David Long Chance Campbell Monty Rice (PUP)

Jack Gibbens

ILB Zach Cunningham Dylan Cole Joe Jones
CB Caleb Farley/Roger McCreary Greg Mabin

Tre Avery

Shyheim Carter

Tre Swilling

CB Kristian Fulton Elijah Molden

Shakur Brown

Chris Jackson

Kenneth George

Terrell Bonds

S Kevin Byard A.J. Moore Joshua Kalu
S Amani Hooker Theo Jackson Michael Griffin II

Analysis

The biggest thing to come from the defensive depth chart is the situation at cornerback, where Farley and McCreary are listed as co-starters. It appears there’s a bit more competition for that starting spot than we initially thought.

Of course, we know McCreary has been sensational in camp while Farley has struggled a bit, but it would still be surprising to see the Titans opt for McCreary over Farley for that starting spot. Keep an eye on that.

Murchison is listed as the fourth defensive end, which is troublesome for his attempt to make the roster. The former fifth-round pick has not done much in training camp outside of a good day on Sunday.

At nose tackle, Tart is listed ahead of Jones, but our belief is the pair will split time at the position in 2022.

At inside linebacker, Rice is listed behind Campbell, but we probably shouldn’t read too much into that, as it’s likely a result of the 2021 third-round pick being on the PUP list.

Special teams

Syndication: The Tennessean
Starter Backup Backup
K Randy Bullock Caleb Shudak (PUP)
KO Randy Bullock Caleb Shudak (PUP)
P Brett Kern Ryan Stonehouse
H Brett Kern Ryan Stonehouse Logan Woodside
PR Kyle Philips Mason Kinsey Reggie Roberson
KOR Dontrell Hilliard Trenton Cannon Mason Kinsey
LS Morgan Cox Ben Jones

Analysis

No real surprises here. The starting kicker, punter and long snapper are all who we expected.

On returns, Philips and Hilliard are listed as the starters for punts and kickoffs, respectively. Hilliard fielded kicks for Tennessee in 2021, and Philips has been working at both spots in training camp.

Not seeing Burks listed among the returners gives us hope that the Titans will think the better of using him there. Now, that’s not to say Burks wouldn’t be good at it, but he’s far too important to the offense to risk an injury in the return game.

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