We have finally made it to NFL draft week 2023. As the athletes, their families, teams, and agents all prepare for Thursday we are focused on continuing our promise to provide you with last year’s team health trends and draft analysis to shine some light on team needs and their potential options. We are here to continue to publish our team “Bus Breakdown” series and NFL “Rough Draft” series this week and starting Thursday our Draft series will start to analyze those teams we haven’t covered yet, who they drafted and how they will be affected by their decisions.
What was the Tennessee Titans record last season?
This week we make our jump to the AFC South and the Tennessee Titans. A team who coming off two impressive 1st AFC south finishes seasons with records of 11-5 in 2020 and 12-5 in 2021 only to struggle through a 7-10 record season this past year. Though 7-10 was still good enough for 2nd in their division it was not a strong enough performance to make the post season. With an offense that sits on the broad shoulders of RB Derrick Oien Henry and a defense that was injury struck this season the Titans had a different vibe to them this year than the past two. What started as a relatively strong start by head coach Mike Vrabel and his team ended with seven consecutive losses.
HOUSTON, TX - DECEMBER 29: Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Oien Henry (22) runs the ball during the game between the Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans on December 29, 2019 at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX. (Photo by Daniel Dunn/Icon Sportswire)
Why were the Tennessee Titans so unhealthy last season?
From a health standpoint three key factors stand out. Those are play-caller health, sheer quantity of defensive injuries and finally team health as a whole. Let’s start with play caller health. It’s no surprise that the reason so much money is spent on QBs is due to the control they have on the field and the knowledge they must have. Which means it is no surprise that anytime a starting QB gets injured you can normally expect to see a drop in offensive production and team success. The Titans starting QB Ryan Tannehill was already dealing with his own struggle and an ankle injury suffered in week seven that forced him out week 8 and 9, which eventually was re-injured becoming a more severe high ankle sprain didn’t help. The Titans turned to Malik Willis who ended up logging a 1-2 record with zero touchdowns and three interceptions. When the success didn’t come, they tried Joshua Dobbs who went 0-2 with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Not the stats you hope for from your back-up quarterbacks.
The next issue was their defensive durability this season. In an already controversial public statement Mike Vrabel called out certain defensive players including former ILB David Long Jr. for “repeat offenders” when it came to soft tissue injuries. Vrabel was referring to Long’s Hamstring injuries this year and last which has caused him to miss a total of 12 games over the past two seasons. Vrabel also called out CB Kristian Fulton who has missed time with Hamstring and groin injuries. Even though calling them out publicly may not have been the best way to approach the situation there is some truth to Vrabel’s comments. Plain and simple, injuries hurt the team and if those guys can’t play then changes have to be made. It may be with their training program, could be with the strength and conditioning staff or the medical staff but something needs to be revised. Amani Hooker, Caleb Farley and Bud Dupree also all had injuries that kept them out of games last season. With all of the injuries in the secondary it is no surprise they led the league giving up an average of 274.8 passing yards per game. Luckily they gave up the least rush yards per game to help offset it.
Where did the Tennessee Titans rank last year?
Finally, the overall team trend of the Tennessee Titans last season made it clear that they need to make some necessary adjustments when it comes to health. Starting the season with a Banged-Up Score ranked 20th of 32 teams they were never able to climb higher than that, even finishing dead last in week 17. Their trend graph over the regular season showed consistent decline with only one blip of recovery in week 13 before continuing their decline yet again. When we dialed in on their average ranking amongst all 32 teams over the season the Titans finished with a 27.3 average weekly ranking out of 32. Holding the 3rd worse health ranking in the NFL week to week last season. With a record that placed them 2nd in the AFC South their health placed them last in their division. A piece of the puzzle that will need to be immediately addressed if they wish to improve next season.
With Tennessee holding the 11th pick in the 2023 draft they can look to secure some new talent to boast depth or address some weak points in their roster. The Titans may look at O-line, QB, defensive back or wide receiver. Find out what draft expert Ryan “The Ghost” Berger has to say about it this week when he releases the Tennessee Titans “Rough Draft”.
