Titans CB Named X-Factor

The Tennessee Titans are excited to have L'Jarius Sneed from the Kansas City Chiefs.

Newly acquired cornerback for the Tennessee Titans L'Jarius Sneed fields questions at his press conference at Ascension Saint Thomas Sports Park Tuesday morning, April 2, 2024. / Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA

The Tennessee Titans made a number of moves this offseason that will shape the franchise for years to come.

They hired Brian Callahan to replace Mike Vrabel after six years at the helm, they signed Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd to boost the receiving corps and give Will Levis a number of talented targets to work with, they said goodbye to Derrick Henry and replaced him with Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard, and they drafted JC Latham with the No. 7 overall pick, making him the potential left tackle of the future.

However, they also made some noise on the defensive side of the ball, trading for Kansas City Chiefs cornerback L'Jarius Sneed and immediately signing him to a four-year, $76.4 million contract. The hefty contract is part of the reason why Sneed is named as the X-Factor for the Titans by ESPN analysts Mike Clay, Aaron Schatz and Seth Walder.

"The new addition is coming off a season in which he was one of the best corners in the game," ESPN wrote of Sneed. "But cornerback is a fickle position, and you never know exactly what you're getting from one year to the next. The upside is there, though: If Sneed, Chidobe Awuzie and Roger McCreary all maintain their level of play from last year, that's a solid trio of corners."

Sneed, 27, recorded 78 tackles and two interceptions last season for the Chiefs en route to the team's second consecutive Super Bowl. It was a step back from his 108 tackles, 3.5 sacks and three interceptions from the year before, but it was still enough to be one of the better cornerbacks in the NFL.

Sneed is expected to receive a lot more attention knowing that he now has received his big NFL paycheck, and he'll likely be tested with a lot of top receivers this year. In the AFC South, he'll have to deal with the likes of Stefon Diggs with the Houston Texans, Michael Pittman Jr. of the Indianapolis Colts and potential breakout Jacksonville Jaguars rookie Brian Thomas Jr. among others.

If he can succeed in that shutdown cornerback role, the Titans defense will project to be better.

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