The Tennessee Titans spent this offseason checking off a long list of needs, and the early verdict from around the league is that they did it better than the rest of the AFC South.
That’s a pretty sharp turn for a team coming off back-to-back three-win seasons. Tennessee had the cap space to make moves, and it used that flexibility to reshape the roster in several spots.
Alontae Taylor and Cor'Dale Flott came in at cornerback. Daniel Bellinger and Wan'Dale Robinson were added on offense.
Then the Titans added another big piece in the 2026 draft with Carnell Tate, a player they believe can grow into the WR1 they’ve been missing for years.
The rest of the division, though, didn’t come close to matching that level of activity. The Jaguars, Colts and Texans all had fewer holes to fill than Tennessee, but none of them made the kind of splash that would force the Titans to keep pace. As training camp gets closer, the gap in offseason momentum looks pretty clear.
That’s reflected in Matt Okada of NFL.com’s offseason grades, where Tennessee and the New York Giants both landed at the top with A+ marks. Okada was also far less generous to the Titans’ division rivals, giving the Jaguars an F, the Colts a C-, and the Texans a B.
For Tennessee, the grade makes sense. The roster looks better almost everywhere you’d want it to.
The pass-catcher group got a major boost. The interior defensive line could be among the league’s best.
The secondary was remade.
The one area that still invites a little squinting is the offensive line. Center and right guard remain uncertain, and the depth behind them is thin. But no team fixes every problem in one offseason, and Tennessee is banking on some internal growth to help smooth that over.
Even with all the roster movement, the biggest question hanging over the Titans’ 2026 season is still Cam Ward. The quarterback had a solid rookie year despite being dropped into a rough situation, and now he’s expected to take another step with a much better supporting cast around him.
If Ward does make that jump, the Titans won’t just look improved - they could become a real problem in the AFC South for a long time.
In Other News...
Titans Camp Is About To Force Some Brutal Roster Decisions
Rookies are set to report to Titans training camp one week from today, with veterans not far behind, and the real roster math is about to get serious. Tennessee is carrying 90 players right now, which means a long summer of evaluation is coming before the group is trimmed to 53 after the third preseason game.
The hard part is that this wont just be about the obvious cuts. There are legitimate battles still to sort out at right guard, center, swing tackle, the final receiver spot and the last secondary jobs, and that leaves a handful of familiar names squarely on the bubble as camp opens. [Read more 🡒]
Carnell Tate Is Suddenly Raising The Stakes For Cam Ward
The Titans made their intentions clear in April when they used the No. 4 overall pick on Carnell Tate, a move that put another premium offensive weapon next to Cam Ward right away. Instead of staying on the defensive side of the board, Tennessee chose to invest in a receiver with the kind of profile that can change how a young quarterback is defended from the start.
Now the early buzz around Tate is only adding to the pressure and the promise. Sayre Bedinger has already slotted him near the top of the 2026 Offensive Rookie of the Year conversation, and the bigger idea is easy to see: if Tate becomes Wards go-to target quickly, the Titans may have found the kind of pairing that can speed up Wards rise and change the shape of the offense sooner than expected. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Camp Battle For One Backfield Job Just Got Real
The Titans backfield picture is mostly set heading into 2026, with Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears expected to carry the offense and fifth-round pick Nicholas Singleton projected to make the roster as a developmental piece. That leaves training camp focused on a smaller but still meaningful question: who, if anyone, earns the fourth running back job on the 53-man roster.
Julius Chestnut, Kalel Mullings and Michael Carter are the names to watch in that fight, and each brings a different case to the table. Chestnut has the longest track record in Tennessee and the kind of special teams familiarity that tends to matter in roster decisions, Mullings is trying to build on a quiet rookie year, and Carter arrives as the lone newcomer with a profile that could make him a natural fit behind Spears if the Titans decide they want another back who can add a little burst. [Read more 🡒]