The Tennessee Titans’ final roster says plenty about where Robert Saleh and GM Mike Borgonzi want this rebuild to go. After two seasons that produced just six combined wins, Tennessee is already deep into its reset, and the first 53-man roster of the Saleh era makes the plan pretty clear: lean on the rookies, and keep pouring resources into a defense that still needs work.
That approach shows up immediately with Carnell Tate. A receiver taken fourth overall in a franchise overhaul is going to have a major role almost anywhere, and Tate is no exception. He is expected to line up with Cam Ward and Wan’Dale Robinson as part of the Titans’ passing game, and Tennessee is counting on him to produce right away.
Tate isn’t the only rookie being pushed into the spotlight. Fernando Carmona has climbed into the starting right guard job after an impressive training camp, and he’ll be asked to hold his own on an offensive line that already has multiple years of experience in most spots.
On the other side of the ball, EDGE Keldric Faulk - whom Tennessee traded up for in the first round - is expected to see significant action. Backup center Pat Coogan also made the final roster over veteran linemen Cordell Volson and Austin Deculus.
FOX Sports recently ranked the Titans as the sixth youngest team in the NFL, and that fits the direction of this roster. The youth movement is obvious, but so is the defensive emphasis. Saleh was hired with a reputation as a defensive mind, and this offseason showed exactly how much that side of the ball matters in his first year steering the rebuild.
After the Titans picked Tate, almost everything else of consequence tilted toward defense. Tennessee overhauled that unit in free agency, adding DE John Franklin-Myers and cornerbacks Alontae Taylor and Cor’Dale Flott.
When the secondary, especially Flott, didn’t meet expectations in camp, the team responded by adding two more defensive pieces on waivers. Four of Tennessee’s five waiver claims were made with the defense in mind.
In other words, the Titans didn’t just talk about building around Saleh’s strengths. They acted on it. The roster they’re taking into Week 1 is young, heavily influenced by rookies, and clearly built with the defense at the center of the operation.
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