Three weeks into the season, the Tennessee Titans’ rookie class is starting to sort itself out, and the latest loss only sharpened the picture.
The Titans fell 12-7 to the New York Giants, but there was still plenty for Nashville to latch onto on the young-player front. A new face in the mix and one injury later, the rankings shifted again - and the biggest riser of the bunch may be the one who looked most comfortable Sunday.
Carnell Tate is still searching for his first touchdown, but his role keeps growing. Against the Giants, he turned in his best game yet, catching six passes for a team-high 58 yards and consistently giving Cam Ward a clean target on open looks.
Ward also missed him on what would have been an easy touchdown, which only added to the sense that Tate is close to breaking through. Even without the score, the Titans have to like what they’ve found in the pass-catcher.
Anthony Hill Jr. remains right there at the top of the class. He was finally passed in total tackles for Tennessee, though it took Jeffery Simmons going off for 10 to do it.
Hill still posted eight tackles last Sunday and now leads the NFL with 34 on the season. He’s clearly the most productive linebacker on the roster, and he’s doing it while outshining veteran Cody Barton.
At this point, Hill and Tate are practically interchangeable near the top.
Keldric Faulk also climbed after a much better showing in Week 3. The first-round EDGE had been under the microscope after a quiet start to his rookie year, especially after the Titans traded up to draft him.
This time, he showed some bite with three tackles and a nasty sack. He didn’t wreck the Giants’ line by himself, but he did enough to join Simmons and CB Alontae Taylor as one of three Titans credited with a sack.
The bottom of the list is a different story. Nick Singleton made his NFL debut in Week 2 against the Philadelphia Eagles, carrying the ball four times on one drive, and Coach Saleh said he hoped Singleton would get more touches against the Giants.
With Tyjae Spears dealing with an ankle issue and barely playing, Singleton looked like the natural backup behind Tony Pollard. Instead, he never got on the field.
Pollard handled 17 carries for 74 yards, but Singleton’s disappearance after all the buildup was impossible to ignore.
Fernando Carmona, meanwhile, can’t really be judged the same way right now. The fifth-round rookie was carted off in Week 3 with an ankle sprain, so it didn’t make sense to keep him on the list for the moment.
He had been impressing after being pushed into the starting offensive line rotation, and once he’s back in a few weeks, there’s a good chance he climbs again. For now, the Titans are just waiting for him to return.
In Other News...
Cam Ward Just Gave Titans Fans A Brutal Reason To Worry
Cam Wards first rough afternoon as the Titans starting quarterback turned into a bigger conversation after Tennessees Week 3 loss to the Giants. The stat line was only part of the problem. Wards decision-making came under heavy criticism, and the late interception became the kind of mistake that tends to linger long after the final whistle in a market already looking for signs of progress.
The Titans are still sticking with Ward for now, but the performance added another layer of pressure to his early stretch as the starter. For a team trying to establish some stability at quarterback, every turnover and every shaky sequence matters, and this one left plenty of questions about where the job stands moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Get An Unexpected Spot In A Halloween NFL Crossover
The Titans have found their way into an unexpected Halloween crossover, thanks to a new SNICKERS and adidas collaboration built around candy, cleats and a little seasonal flair. The limited-edition launch includes SNICKERS x adidas candy bars and the ADIZERO ELECTRIC + II, a football cleat with a Halloween theme and performance technology, giving the partnership a lane that reaches beyond the usual offseason promo and into the kind of crossover marketing that tends to grab attention.
Carnell Tate played a part in bringing the collaboration to life, giving Tennessee a direct link to a campaign that starts rolling out in phases. The candy bars arrive on Sept. 29, the cleats follow on Oct. 10, and SNICKERS will run a giveaway on Instagram from Oct. 12-16, so anyone following the release still has a few moving pieces to track as the Halloween push builds. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Already Have An Uncomfortable Cam Ward Question
Cam Wards first stretch as the Titans franchise quarterback has not given the team much comfort. Since going first overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, he has battled through a rough opening run that has left him near the bottom of several passing categories, and the backdrop around him has not made the job easier. Tennessee has been working with an inexperienced receiving group, while the coaching situation has not offered much stability for a young passer trying to find his footing.
Still, the longer this goes on, the harder it becomes to separate Wards development from the organizations future planning. Sports Illustrateds Albert Breer raised the possibility that if the losses keep piling up, Tennessee could eventually be looking at quarterback again in the 2027 NFL Draft, which is the kind of conversation no team wants to be having this early with a player taken first overall. Any move in that direction would say as much about how the Titans have handled the position around Ward as it would about Ward himself. [Read more 🡒]