The Titans are finally showing a little life after six weeks, and their rookie class is part of the reason why. A win over the Indianapolis Colts gave Tennessee its first AFC South victory of the year, and with that came a fresh look at which first-year players are actually driving the conversation.
At the top, Carnell Tate has separated himself from the pack. The fourth overall pick keeps stacking moments, and his latest came against Indianapolis, where he grabbed six of seven targets for 70 yards and scored his first NFL touchdown in the fourth quarter.
That catch helped kick-start Tennessee’s comeback win and only strengthened the sense that Tate already looks like WR1 next to Wan'Dale Robinson. Even with Cam Ward still trying to find his way, Tate’s efficiency hasn’t really dipped.
Right behind him is Anthony Hill Jr., who keeps making the kind of steady impact that coaches love and opponents hate. After six weeks, he’s sitting top five in the NFL with 56 tackles, and against the Colts he was on the field for all 78 of Tennessee’s defensive snaps.
He finished with nine total tackles, added one for loss, and broke up a pass. Cody Barton and Cedric Gray handled 42 and 37 snaps respectively, but Hill remains the rookie most clearly woven into the defense from the start.
Then there’s Keldric Faulk, who is still waiting for the kind of breakout that would match the expectations that came with Tennessee trading up for him. Against Indianapolis, he managed only one QB pressure and played just 29 snaps, per PFF.
He now has one sack on the season, and while there’s no denying the talent or the upside, the production still hasn’t caught up. The rest of the defensive front has helped cover some of that ground, but Faulk hasn’t taken over the job yet.
Nick Singleton stays on the list even though he was inactive in Week 6. He’s still in the mix because his status has bounced around, but the rookie running back hasn’t done enough to force his way into a regular role. Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears are ahead of him on the depth chart, and that leaves Singleton waiting for an opening.
The clearest path to more work would be Pollard being moved before next month’s trade deadline. If that doesn’t happen and Pollard stays through the final year of his contract, Singleton may have to wait until his second season to show what he can do with a bigger workload.
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Titans Suddenly Face A Real Question About Alontae Taylor
A quiet but notable subplot emerged before Tennessees game against Indianapolis when Robert Saleh made the call to bench starting cornerback Alontae Taylor as part of a reset. Saleh framed the move as a way to help Taylor adjust to life as an outside corner in the teams defensive system, and Taylor took the news in stride, acknowledging the decision while stressing his motivation to adapt and improve.
For the Titans, the situation raises a real roster and development question at a position that has been under the microscope all season. It also landed on a day when there was some good news elsewhere, with Julius Chestnut earning AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors for his punt block, while the team continued sorting through injury updates and practice participation ahead of the matchup. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Fans Noticed A Familiar Voice Suddenly Missing In Nashville
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Bishop is no longer part of that lineup. His last appearance on Cover Two came on Oct. 15, and producer Ross Johnston has been filling in since then, leaving a noticeable change for Titans fans who had grown used to hearing Bishop's take alongside Lyons every week. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Could Make A Painful Deadline Choice Fans Knew Was Coming
At 1-5, the Titans are once again staring at the kind of deadline that usually forces a hard reset, and this time the conversation is not about buying help but about deciding which veterans still fit the long view. The reported stance is clear enough: outside of the rookie class, Cam Ward and Jeffery Simmons, just about everyone else can be discussed if the return helps Tennessee build draft capital before the Nov. 10 deadline.
That makes the next two weeks worth watching around players like Calvin Ridley, Tony Pollard and Cody Barton, all of whom could draw different levels of interest depending on what a contender needs. Ridley has been linked to the Rams, Pollard has been tied to the Bengals and Barton has been floated to the Bills, but those are only speculative fits for now, the sort of deadline chatter that says as much about where the Titans are headed as it does about where these veterans might land. [Read more 🡒]