Tennessee Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi has worked hard to revamp the team’s defensive line this offseason. It’s been built in new head coach Robert Saleh’s vision. The Titans have acquired five players via free-agency signings and trades that previously played for Saleh in New York or San Francisco.
Those players are Jermaine Johnson II, Jacob Martin, John Franklin-Myers, Solomon Thomas, and Jordan Elliott. They also traded up to No. 31 overall to draft EDGE Keldric Faulk, another player who
fits what Saleh wants to do schematically. Three of those players (Johnson, Martin, Faulk) are pure EDGEs, and another (Franklin-Myers) will occasionally play outside.
Despite that, nobody truly believes the Titans are elite, or even above average, at EDGE. There’s a lot of projection. In base defense, the Titans may start Johnson and Faulk outside. Johnson is coming off a 2024 Achilles injury, and 2025 down season. Faulk is a rookie who had two sacks for the Auburn Tigers last season.
Behind Faulk and Johnson are Martin, Femi Oladejo, and Jaylen Harrell. Martin has always been a rotational option. Oladejo must take a sizable sophomore step after initially disappointing as a rookie before suffering a season-ending injury. Harrell concluded the 2025 season strongly, but he’s another back-end rotational player.
The Titans are probably done signing EDGE rushers, given how active they’ve been this offseason. We’re simply posing a question. Should they be?
A wave of free-agency signings always occurs after the 2026 NFL Draft. The market on EDGEs was kick-started earlier this week by the Seattle Seahawks, who signed Dante Fowler Jr. Some of the veteran pass rushers still available in free agency include Joey Bosa, Cameron Jordan, Haason Reddick, Leonard Floyd, Mike Danna, and Kyle Van Noy. Saleh obviously coached Bosa’s brother (Nick) in San Francisco. Borgonzi knows Danna from his Kansas City days.
Saleh’s defensive scheme should improve the Titans’ sack production. Furthermore, Jeffery Simmons is an elite defensive tackle, and the attention he demands inside should lead to favorable matchups for the edge rushers. The Titans are banking on positive outcomes from unknown commodities like Johnson, Faulk, and Oladejo.
