Tennessee Titans fans are excited about having defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers playing next to Jeffery Simmons this season. The Titans made a splash by signing Franklin-Myers in free agency. He was signed to a three-year contract worth $63 million. His $21 million per year price tag was the highest annual value of any deal signed by Mike Borgonzi this offseason.
New Titans head coach Robert Saleh coached Franklin-Myers with the New York Jets. In fact, Franklin-Myers was essentially an unknown
player when Saleh (and new Titans DL coach Aaron Whitecotton) developed him into a highly effective player. That played a massive role in the Titans’ decision to aggressively pursue him in free agency.
Franklin-Myers produced a career-high 7.5 sacks for the Denver Broncos last season. It was a perfect follow-up to his 7.0 sack season in 2024. Throughout his career, he’s been more of a modest producer.
From 2020 to 2023, Franklin-Myers totaled 17.5 sacks. With the majority of those years being played under Coach Saleh, Franklin-Myers averaged 4.5 sacks per season. He’s gotten even better since leaving the Jets and joining an elite Broncos defensive line.
Franklin-Myers should form a haunting duo with Simmons inside Saleh’s defensive line. Perhaps playing with such an elite 3-tech like Simmons will help Franklin-Myers reach the 7+ sack number for a third consecutive season. Or perhaps he’ll register 4-5 sacks, more in-line with his career average.
The Titans don’t have many pass-rushing threats outside of Simmons and Franklin-Myers. They’re hoping Jermaine Johnson II, who also played for Saleh in New York, can bounce-back in 2026 after his 2025 was ineffective due to a 2024 Achilles injury. Sophomore Femi Oladejo is another unknown after a poor rookie season. Jacob Martin is going to be more involved than most realize.
Hopefuly Franklin-Myers can produce sacks in bunches.
