Most rankings ahead of NFL training camp have placed the Tennessee Titans somewhere around the middle of the pack.
USA TODAY was no exception, placing the Titans just a couple spots below the direct center of their latest NFL power rankings, which were published on Tuesday.
The Titans ranked at No. 18 overall, one place ahead of the Baltimore Ravens, and one step behind the division rival Jacksonville Jaguars.
This is a slight jump for the Titans ahead of their previous spot at No. 20.
Here’s what network analyst Nate Davis had to say.
“QB Marcus Mariota may be entering contract year, but he’d be wise — and likely healthier — to spend most of his time handing off to Derrick Henry this season.”
The New England Patriots ranked No. 1 on this list, while the Miami Dolphins found themselves on the direct opposite side of the spectrum at No. 32.
In regards to the Titans, these rankings were somewhat similar to those of the USA TODAY SMG Touchdown Wire rankings, released by Doug Farrar on Monday.
Here’s what Farrar had to say about pinning the Titans to No. 14.
“Over the last three seasons, the Titans have seemed like the team hanging around, waiting for definition,” he wrote.
”They’ve gone 9-7 in each of those three seasons, making the playoffs in 2017 at the end of Mike Mularkey’s brief “Exotic Smashouth” era. Last season, they finished 20th overall in Football Outsiders’ opponent-adjusted efficiency metrics — 22nd on offense, 19th on defense, 13th on special teams. They have a handful of truly great players — Derrick Henry, Jurrell Casey and Kevin Byard. They have a quarterback, Marcus Mariota, who’s had one great statistical season (2016) in a four-year career, and average performances aside. An improved receiver corps should help, and there’s nothing specifically wrong with this team. The question is, when are the Titans going to crawl out of the average and show their true potential?”
The best anyone can do for now is to speculate until the Titans play their first regular season game against the Cleveland Browns on Sept. 8 at 12:00 p.m. CT at FirstEnergy Stadium.
