The NFL regular season will finally kick off on Wednesday, but the Tennessee Titans will have to wait until Sunday to see some action when they open up against the New York Jets at Nissan Stadium.
The Titans will look completely different in 2026, boasting new uniforms, an upgraded coaching staff, and a retooled roster. The big question is whether they can make enough progress to get back into contention in the AFC South. For that to happen, the new faces will have to gel quickly, and some young talent will have to step up.
Are they ready to do that? ESPN's Turron Devenport broke down the Titans' biggest strength and area of concernheading into the 2026 season.
Biggest strength: The front seven. Jeffery Simmons, the most impactful player on the team,
leads the front and now has a legit running mate in John Franklin-Myers. Defensive end Jermaine Johnson II reunites with new head coach Robert Saleh, a few years removed from a career-high 7.5 sacks when they were last together with the Jets. Cedric Gray is a budding star at linebacker. First-round pick Keldric Faulk and second-round pick Anthony Hill Jr. will be contributors as well.
Biggest concern: The secondary. High-ticket free agent additions -- Alontae Taylor and Cor'Dale Flott -- have begun to rebound from rocky performances early in camp, and though Marcus Harris is a solid nickel, depth behind him is limited. A pectoral injury also landed veteran free agent Joshua Williams on injured reserve. Tennessee will have to figure it out, as quarterbacks who started preseason games against the Titans completed 89% of their passes.
Davenport is spot on in his analysis, with these two areas being the biggest unknowns on the defense. The front seven looks strong, but hasn’t seen much action together in the preseason. The secondary also played minimal snaps and appeared to struggle when they were on the field. This week's game against the Jets will be a big test and will prove whether the attention paid to joint practices truly outpaced what they put on tape in the preseason.
This article originally appeared on Titans Wire: ESPN analyst breaks down Titans' strengths and areas of concern
