Examining Titans General Manager Ran Carthon's First Six Months On The Job

The work of new Tennessee Titan general manager Ran Carthon has just begun, and with the season fast approaching, his schedule will become busier.

George Walker IV / Tennessean.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

NASHVILLE - Ran Carthon was named general manager of the Tennessee Titans on January 18, and he immediately began the process of reshaping the team's roster as he and head coach Mike Vrabel look to return this franchise to the top of the AFC South and into the playoff conversation this season. 

It took Carthon just four days to make his first move as GM, signing Tyler Shelvin as a free agent, and he has been rolling along through free agency and the draft ever since. 

While it is difficult to assess how good these free agents and this draft class will be until we see them on the field, there can be some early critiques of how these players might impact this team this season.  

Let's begin with the draft, where Carthon added at least two players who will be instant impact players this season in now offensive guard Peter Skoronski and running back Tyjae Spears, who has already carved out a place as a playmaker on this offense. 

The remainder of this rookie class has all shown flashes of what prompted Carthon and Vrabel to select them. While Will Levis, Jaelyn Duncan, and Colton Dowell could be limited in their amount of play this season, Josh Whyle appears to be in a position to get onto the field early, and depending on his evolution, he could see his action grow as the season progresses. 

As for the free agent additions, the jury is out on some of them, like left tackle Andre Dillard, who comes with a first-round pedigree but has not played to that level before his arrival in Nashville. 

Meanwhile, fellow offensive lineman Daniel Brunskill seems to have settled into the right guard position. While he, too, was not a regular starter before signing with the Titans, he started at every line position with San Francisco and has more game experience to his name than that of Dillard. 

Perhaps the easiest place to see the impact of these free agent additions is on defense, where Azeez Ak-Shaair, Arden Key, and Sean Murphy-Bunting all look to be immediate starters, and all showed well during the OTA and minicamp practices.      

Other free-agent additions are vying for special teams and backup roles, but at this point, these five players are all penciled into starting positions for the Titans this season. 

However, arguably the player who could make the most significant impact on this team in 2023 is rusher Arden Key.  

A high-motor, high-energy guy, Key has shown the ability to impact the quarterback during his career, and he will get the chance to be a starter this season. He will be counted on to provide an edge pass rush as Harold Landry gets back into game shape. 

It seems as though Carthon has had a solid and productive first six months on the job. Still, it will be a few more months before we can truly begin to get a clearer picture of how these moves will pay off. 

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