How Good Could The Titans Pass Rush Be in 2023?

There's a new metric going around that suggests the Tennessee Titans could have one of the best pass rushes in 2023.

Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK

NASHVILLE - The Tennessee Titans fielded the best run defense last season, allowing just 76.5 yards per game, slightly ahead of the San Francisco 49ers at 77.7 yards per game. At the same time, their pass defense struggled, allowing 274.8 yards per game.  

At the same time, the Titans defense allowed just 21.1 points per game, good for 15th overall. So if head coach Mike Vrabel, defensive coordinator Shane Bowen, and new secondary coach Chris Harris can find answers and fix the issues that plagued this team last season, those defensive rankings should climb.    

One way to do that is to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks. 

A new metric floating about suggests the Titans might have an answer for some of those issues. 

According to the metric created by Brandon Thorn of Establish The Run, Thorn has put together a chart of pass rush efficiency called The True Pressure Rate (TPR). 

What does that mean? 

This chart reportedly measures the ‘Pressure quality ratio’ that reflects the rate of high-quality to low-quality pressures’ by individual pass rushers around the league.

I created a metric called ‘Pressure quality ratio’ that reflects the rate of high-quality to low-quality pressures. It’s a good way to look at the most potent pass-rushers who may not have the volume of pressures as others.

- If there was one stat to look at to best gauge Myles… pic.twitter.com/AIifcih3t9

— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) July 2, 2023

While the quality of this metric and its accuracy are open for debate, if there is any accuracy to these numbers, the Titans pass rush could well be at or near the top of the league in 2023. 

Jeffery Simmons, Denico Autry, and Arden Key are among the best pass rushers in the league per this chart. That doesn’t include former Pro-Bowler Harold Landry, who is returning from injury. 

Ultimately it comes down to what happens on the field. Still, knowing what Simmons, Autry, Key, and Landry can do as individual pass rushers, it seems easy to imagine what this group should be able to do to opposing quarterbacks this season. 

If this group can produce at or near the same level as in previous seasons, an improved pass rush could help improve the secondary issues. It won’t hurt, and as we know, it’s hard for quarterbacks to throw the football with pressure in their faces and when they are constantly being hit or sacked. 

      

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