We've reached "unofficial" depth chart season. That's when the Tennessee Titans release a new depth chart from training camp while reminding everyone how it isn't binding and is only for informative purposes (all while splashing the depth chart all over the team's website in its "unofficial" glory).
Silly? No doubt.
But that doesn't mean it is a worthless endeavor. There are always lessons to be gleaned from a full depth chart, and in pursuing this new one for the Titans, I compared it back to the start of the 2025 season.
Where is this depth chart different from that depth chart? At which positions are this team better? Where has it gotten worse?
Let's discuss, shall we:
Where are the Tennessee Titans a lot better?
WIDE RECEIVER: This looks like the most improved position on the team. Which
should happen when you spend a No. 4 overall draft pick on a receiver (Carnell Tate) after spending $78 million in free agency on another (Wan'Dale Robinson). Throw in a proven returning pro like Calvin Ridley – who should have a big ol' chip on his shoulder entering 2026 – and promising second-year players Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike, and the Titans are cooking with gas at receiver for the first time in a long time. There will be some capable receivers, guys that the Titans would've leaned on in previous seasons, that aren't going to be able to make this roster out of camp.
QUARTERBACK: Cam Ward is no longer a rookie, and behind him, the experience has improved significantly from last preseason's fringe NFL QBs Brandon Allen and Tim Boyle. Ward's new backup, Mitch Trubisky, has played in 82 NFL games and thrown 1,933 passes. While Will Levis (who's been kept too late at this party) might get traded soon and Hendon Hooker (who is barely practicing) might not be in position to make the team anyway, either still would be quite acceptable as a team's third quarterback.
Where are the Titans a little better?
DEFENSIVE TACKLE: It helps to have one of the NFL's best defensive players up front, but there's more than just Jeffery Simmons for offenses to worry about. John Franklin-Myers, too, will be a problem. Plenty of others, like Jordan Elliott or Solomon Thomas, could feast with offenses focusing so much on the stars. This was by design. Robert Saleh did not come to Tennessee to coach a bad defense, and this D-line has been constructed to be the strength of the entire team.
INSIDE LINEBACKER: Cody Barton and Cedric Gray are back as likely starters, but there's genuine competition behind them. Rookie Anthony Hill Jr., has flashed plenty during his first NFL training camp. James Williams has made clear strides, too, and you've also got Mohamoud Diabate and Dorian Mausi in the mix. The Titans, collectively, are healthier here than they've been in a while.
CORNERBACK: It's not great here now. But it was worse a year ago. The L'Jarius Sneed trade/signing will be remembered as one of the worst front-office decisions in this franchise's history. That the Titans are no longer having to hold out hope for Sneed constitutes improvement in 2026. Nonetheless, there are serious depth concerns behind the top tandem of Alontae Taylor and Cor'Dale Flott. You just know that the Titans will (again) be banged-up by early November and (again) running an undrafted free agent out there to try to cover Ja'Marr Chase in Cincinnati.
Where are the Titans about the same?
RUNNING BACK: Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears are still around, though this season could be a last hurrah for each in Tennessee. The next generation might be led by rookie Nick Singleton, who has looked good in early practices, and perhaps will include someone from a deep position group that still includes Kalel Mullings and Julius Chestnut. Shout to Michael Carter for his work, too, thus far this preseason.
EDGE RUSHER: The Titans didn't do enough here this past offseason, but the lumping of edge rushers (call them outside linebackers or defensive ends) in with a deep, talented group of defensive tackles is going to provide some cover when those tackles start shifting around up front. Though the Titans are still without that cornerstone edge rusher that'll keep an offensive tackle up at night, Jermaine Johnson II looks like an impact addition. Plus, you've got Jacob Martin and some high-upside projects in Keldric Faulk and Femi Oladejo.
SAFETY: The lack of depth is alarming throughout the Titans' secondary, but it has been an encouraging sign for young Kevin Winston Jr., that this new coaching staff has treated him all along as a no-doubt starter (and the Titans' offseason personnel decisions seemed to reflect that confidence). Winston has the upside of a potential star. Meanwhile, Amani Hooker remains one of the few remaining veterans who can remember what it was like around here when the Titans were actually pretty good.
Where are the Titans about the same – for now?
SPECIAL TEAMS: Kicker Joey Slye's recent struggles have been a curveball during what'd been a quiet preseason on the specialist front. The pressure has ticked up for Slye, for sure, and that won't change for the rest of training camp. Otherwise, Tommy Townsend is entrenched as the punter, and Dike as the formidable return specialist. Special teams coordinator John Fassel did fine work in 2025 in transforming his unit into the bright spot of an entire dreary season. Retaining Fassel was one of the best moves Saleh could've made upon arrival.
Where have the Titans gotten worse?
TIGHT END: Delanie Walker ain't walking through that door, but the real question here is how much the Titans are planning to ask of their tight ends in 2026. So far in training camp, the tight ends haven't caught many passes. And they haven't been thrown many, either. Gunnar Helm showed some promise as a rookie, but Chig Okonkwo is now in Washington and Daniel Bellinger stepped in to lead a group that still doesn't move the needle much on paper.
OFFENSIVE LINE: You've got one above-average NFL player in left guard Peter Skoronski and questions everywhere else up front. Even if tackles Dan Moore Jr., and JC Latham can stay healthy (cross your fingers for each) enough to perform above expectations this season, you've still got concerns in the interior spots. Austin Schlottmann, who appears locked in at center, has played seven NFL seasons without ever really being a full-time starter. That's not ideal. Neither is the fact that the Titans are still mixing and matching at right guard in practices, a sign that they might end up having to run a fifth-round rookie (Fernando Carmona) out there in Week 1.
Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and hang out with him on Bluesky @gentryestes.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Where have the Titans improved? Worsened? Stayed same? Let's go through positions | Estes
