Erick Hallett II is doing more than just hanging around the bottom of the Titans’ safety depth chart. He’s making the coaches take a second look at a spot that looked mostly sorted before training camp even got rolling.
Tennessee came into the preseason with Amani Hooker and Kevin Winston Jr. locked in as the starting safeties, while veteran free-agent addition Tony Adams, who reunites with head coach Robert Saleh, sits third on the depth chart. That left what was supposed to be the final safety job as the real battle. Hallett has quickly inserted himself into that fight.
Against the San Francisco 49ers in preseason Week 1, Hallett logged 29 snaps and turned in a performance that stood out for more than just his work at safety. He played 20 snaps in the slot after Marcus Harris, the Titans’ starting nickel cornerback, left the game.
Local radio host Zach Lyons pointed that out on social media, and it matters because Tennessee doesn’t have an obvious backup for Harris. That opens the door for Hallett to work his way into the conversation as the defense’s second-string nickelback.
He also picked up five snaps as a third linebacker, another sign that Saleh and the defensive backs staff see him as more than a one-position player. That kind of flexibility can change a roster case fast.
Hallett’s path here has been anything but direct. Jacksonville took him in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, then he spent a brief stretch with the Detroit Lions before the Titans claimed him off their practice squad last December. He has stayed in Tennessee since.
And he’s not just competing with one body on the bubble. Bishop Fitzgerald, Kendell Brooks and Jerrick Reed II are all in the mix for reserve safety jobs too.
Even so, after one preseason game, Hallett looks like the most convincing of the group. With roster cutdown day set for August 30th, that’s not a small thing.
What makes Hallett interesting is that he’s showing value beyond standard safety depth. He handled work at nickelback, filled in at linebacker and looked comfortable on special teams, where he made a tackle on seven third-phase snaps. For a player trying to win a job the hard way, that’s exactly the kind of all-around case that gets noticed.
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