It’s crazy how fast things change, and how different a position group can look in just a week for the Tennessee Titans. Over the past 10 days, the Titans have reshaped their defensive line, and the unit will look completely different heading into their Week 8 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Over the past two weeks, Tennessee released Jordan Elliott after a tragic incident at the team facility and then shockingly traded Jeffery Simmons to the Chicago Bears for significant draft compensation. Leaving what once looked like a strong defense as a major question mark moving forward.
The current Titans’ defensive line depth chart looks like this:
Starters: John Franklin-Myers, Nazir Stackhouse, Solomon Thomas, and Jermaine Johnson II.
Reserves: Keldric
Faulk, Oluwafemi Oladejo, Jackie Marshall, Jonah Laulu, Jacob Martin, and Truman Jones
Something that complicates the unit moving forward is the health of Franklin-Myers, who has battled a back injury all season and sat out practice on Wednesday with a groin injury. If he were fully healthy, sliding him inside to give Faulk and Oladejo added reps would make sense.
Quietly, Oladejo has played well in limited snaps, is consistently rated as one of the Titans' top defensive linemen, and Faulk needs more reps to reach his ceiling.
Along the interior, Stackhouse has been a tremendous addition and surprise this season and should see more snaps, as should Marshall, who has been inactive all season. Tennessee claimed Laulu off waivers from the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday, and he, too, could be thrust into action.
Tennessee could look to re-sign Timmy Horne, who was let go to make room for Laulu, or at least add him back to the practice squad.
More details on the depth chart and how head coach Robert Saleh and defensive coordinator Gus Bradley plan to navigate this unit after trading Simmons will likely trickle out. Stay tuned for updates.
This article originally appeared on Titans Wire: What trading Jeffery Simmons does to Titans defensive line depth chart?
