Femi Oladejo’s first offseason with the Titans didn’t go the way anyone drew it up. After a rookie year already wiped out by injury, the second-round pick was again forced off the field this spring, this time because of a hamstring issue. Tennessee, though, expects him back when training camp opens July 29.
That matters because Oladejo has already lost a huge chunk of his early development. The Titans took him 52nd overall in 2025 as an edge player for their 3-4 defense, but he appeared in only six games before fracturing his leg on Oct. 12, 2025, in Las Vegas against the Raiders. For a player chosen as the first defensive pick of a new general manager, the missed reps have been a real setback.
Spring was supposed to be his chance to catch up. Instead, he was sidelined during OTAs and minicamp, the exact stretch when a young player can start closing the gap after a shortened rookie season and a move into a new system. Tennessee still views him as a developmental piece, but the learning curve remains part of the assignment.
That curve got steeper with the position change. Oladejo is moving from 3-4 outside linebacker to 3-4 end, which means less space to work in and a more direct pass-rush role.
Jermaine Johnson and first-round rookie Keldric Faulk are expected to be the main names in the rotation, with veteran Jacob Martin also in the mix. It’s a group that figures to rotate often, and Oladejo will need to carve out his place in it.
Robert Saleh said the biggest jump for Oladejo won’t really happen until camp, when the pads come on.
“I mean, he checks every box,” Saleh said. “He looks unbelievable walking off the bus, right?
And he's got great length, he's got great speed. For him, it's going to come down to putting on pads and playing with the violence that we ask for out of the defensive line.
Different than a 3-4 team, and it's not to say that he's not a violent person. He can play with violence but you're not really asked when you're just sitting there setting edges and the way outside linebackers play.
“We get off the ball, we're in your face. There is a learning curve, so right now it's more just fine-tuning his movements with regards to pass rush and understanding pad level and the ways we ask our guys to get off. But the true growth will happen once training camp hits.”
So the spring missed time is real, but Tennessee isn’t treating it like a long-term detour. The Titans believe Oladejo can still use camp to make up ground and keep his development moving forward.
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Now the challenge is less about what Harrell showed than where he fits. He enters 2026 training camp fighting for a roster spot in a crowded edge group, with Jermaine Johnson, Keldric Faulk and Femi Oladejo all in the mix and Jacob Martin also potentially part of the conversation. Harrell has already made himself harder to overlook, but the Titans still have to decide whether that late-season surge was enough to carve out a real place in the rotation. [Read more 🡒]