SANTA CLARA, Calif. ― The Tennessee Titans aren't better at football than the San Francisco 49ers. That much we can pretty conclusively say. But that's not exactly a surprise now, is it?
The 49ers won the eye test of their joint practice against the Titans decisively on Aug. 11. If we're grading it on a 0-100 scale where 50-50 is a tie, The Tennessean scored the day with the 49ers' offense winning 70-30 over the Titans' defense and the 49ers' defense winning 60-40 against the Titans' offense.
Let's put it this way: Three hours after practice ended, the Titans hadn't posted a single highlight from the practice on any of their socials. No videos on X, Instagram, Facebook or TikTok. Not one clip worth bragging about from anywhere on the field.
So
let's get granular with this. Let's go position group by position group with the Titans' offense and defense and grade how they performed against the 49ers and what that performance tells us.
Grading the Titans' performance vs 49ers in joint practice
Quarterbacks: C
Cam Ward wasn't the problem. He was in rhythm on early downs and didn't have a lot of answers when the field got longer. We can say pretty similar things about Mitchell Trubisky and Will Levis, though Levis did struggle a little more. All in all, the QBs didn't do all that much to make the team better, but they also didn't do anything to really make things worse.
Running backs: B+
Rookie Nick Singleton might've been the Titans' biggest standout of the day, and he's been pretty consistent about that for a week or two now. Tyjae Spears had some juice too, and Julius Chestnut showed up when things got physical. Props where it's due, the Titans' running game looks solid.
Wide receivers: B-
Carnell Tate and Calvin Ridley didn't really have a problem getting open. Elic Ayomanor did a pretty solid job of it too, although he failed to convert on two explosives that could've changed the tone of the practice. The whole operation wasn't working, but the receivers weren't exactly a negative.
Tight ends: B
A lot of check downs and quick dump offs, but the tight ends caught a good number of passes. Depth is still a bit of a concern, but the unit does its job out of 12 personnel more often than not.
Offensive line: D
San Francisco's defensive front isn't particularly stout, especially with star Nick Bosa not practicing. So between the near-constant pressure coming off the edge and the two ejections of Titans' tackles for throwing punches when tensions ran high, this day was a disappointment.
Defensive line: C+
Jeffery Simmons did his job like usual. Jermaine Johnson II had a couple of flash plays. But that's about it. The expectations for this group are high, and we're grading on a bit of a curve, but the fairest thing to say is things should've looked better.
Linebackers: B-
Cody Barton had a nice day. Cedric Gray flew around out there, but might've been a little overzealous at times. There's a lot of depth here, but it's hard not to look at some of the Titans' struggles in the red zone period and wonder if the backers could've done more.
Secondary: D
The shame here is the depth pieces actually played fairly well. Nazeeh Johnson and Mario Goodrich III had interceptions, and Jalen McMurray had a nice pass breakup. But the big-name guys just didn't live up to the billing. Safety Amani Hooker had a rough day, and both corners Alontae Taylor and Cor'Dale Flott had moments where they got beat over the top. So what's next week's joint practice challenge? Seattle and reigning All-Pro Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X @nicksuss. Subscribe to the Talkin’ Titans newsletter for updates sent directly to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Grading every Titans position including a 'D' for OL after 49ers joint practice
