The Tennessee Titans are one week from kicking off their season at Nissan Stadium, and the opener already feels like a major marker for the rebuilt roster. Robert Saleh’s team is set to open against a New York Jets squad he believes is flying “under the radar,” and the first lineup choices could tell you plenty about how he wants this thing to look from the jump.
If Saleh were making the calls with a more aggressive eye toward youth, there are three spots worth changing right away.
The clearest one is at receiver, where Elic Ayomanor has a real case to start immediately. Calvin Ridley can absolutely get a fair look, but Ayomanor spent his rookie year making himself hard to ignore.
His four touchdowns matched the most by a Titans wideout last season, and now he’s got a full year working alongside Cam Ward behind him. That makes a trio of Ayomanor, Carnell Tate and Wan'Dale Robinson look awfully appealing if Tennessee wants to lean into the younger options and keep Ridley in reserve.
There’s a similar argument on defense with rookie linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. coming off a strong preseason. He picked off multiple passes between joint practices and preseason games, and the momentum got even louder when he was the highest graded defensive rookie across every preseason game in Week 2, per PFF.
Still, the more realistic opening move would be to keep him in the backup mix while third-year linebacker James Williams gets the nod. That setup would also let veteran Cody Barton see the field while Tennessee sorts out how the depth chart settles behind him.
The backfield is the other spot where the Titans could get creative. Tyjae Spears deserves a heavy role in the passing game, and a split with Tony Pollard makes sense, even if Pollard keeps a slight edge as the starter.
Spears missed four games last season and still outproduced Pollard as a receiver, finishing with 283 yards to 206. Now healthy and headed into a season where his workload should climb, he looks like a back who can be eased in while still getting plenty of snaps.
That kind of approach also fits the larger picture in Tennessee’s backfield. Pollard is in the final year of his contract, and Spears looks like the kind of player who could be moving toward a bigger job. Week 1 would be as good a place as any to start that process.
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Titans Offense Just Got A National Verdict Fans Will Hate
USA TODAYs preseason offense rankings did not offer much comfort for a Titans group trying to turn the page. Tennessee landed 31st, a blunt reminder of how far the unit still has to climb, even after a busy offseason aimed at making the attack more functional around quarterback Cam Ward. The front office has tried to address the obvious pain points, bringing in receivers Wan'Dale Robinson and Carnell Tate while also giving the offensive line a boost with rookie Fernando Carmona and a new extension for Peter Skoronski.
There is at least a case to be made that the Titans are not starting from the same place they were a year ago. Ward remains the starter, and the pieces around him look better on paper than they did last season, which is exactly why the ranking stings a little more. It is one thing to be underestimated in the preseason and another to have a national outlet look at the roster and still place the offense near the bottom, leaving Tennessee with a long way to go before the actual production matches the offseason optimism. [Read more 🡒]
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Cam Wards first season in Tennessee came with plenty of hard lessons, from taking too many sacks to trying to steer a team that simply did not win enough around him. So when FanSided slotted him 23rd among active quarterbacks, it fit the uneasy middle ground he now occupies, a young passer with enough traits to intrigue but not yet enough proof to quiet the noise. The Titans have spent the offseason trying to change that conversation by reshaping the environment around him and making it easier for his next step to show up on the field.
Brian Daboll is now in place as offensive coordinator, and Tennessee has also worked to improve the receiving group around Ward with Wan'Dale Robinson and first-round pick Carnell Tate among the additions. It is the kind of support system that can make a real difference for a quarterback still trying to turn flashes into consistency, and it is why the 2026 season feels like such an important one for Ward. The doubt is still there, but for the first time since his arrival, so is a clearer path to answering it. [Read more 🡒]
Robert Saleh's Titans Face An Uncomfortable AFC South Reality
Robert Saleh is stepping into a familiar but uneasy Tennessee Titans job, with the team set to welcome its third head coach in three years in 2026. The move comes after four straight losing seasons since 2021, and while there is an expectation that the Titans can take a step forward, the broader picture around them is not exactly forgiving.
Garrett Podell of CBS Sports still has Tennessee pegged to finish last in the AFC South, which is a reminder of how steep the climb remains. Houston, Jacksonville and Indianapolis all bring more established competition in the division, leaving Saleh and the Titans with more than just an internal reset to manage as they try to change the trajectory. [Read more 🡒]