With Kevin Byard Traded, Time for Elijah Molden to Step Up for Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans were smart to trade Kevin Byard for draft picks, but now they have an open hole at safety that will need to be filled by third-year player Elijah Molden.

The Tennessee Titans sent star safety Kevin Byard to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for multiple picks and veteran safety Terrell Edmunds. Edmunds may be capable of filling Byard's role, but the Titans should be focused on giving chances to Elijah Molden.

Elijah Molden was drafted in 2021 out of Washington as a slot cornerback, but some scouts thought his best position would be safety in the NFL. It took two seasons, but the Titans finally made that move, converting Molden to safety in this past offseason.

This is the moment the Titans were preparing for. Since the offseason, it has been likely this was Byard's last year with the team. The Titans had to have that in mind when they decided to flip Molden over to safety during the summer.

Now it is time for that decision to pay off. The Titans could choose to go with the safety they acquired in Terrell Edmunds, but the whole point of trading Byard was to focus on the future and Molden is in his third year while Edmunds is in his sixth.

Edmunds is one a one-year contract worth $2 million. Edmunds is not in the Titans' long-term plans. He was simply a throw-in to help with depth and making the financials of the trade work. Allowing him to start over Molden would be a mistake.

Molden has had some trouble staying healthy since he missed 15 games in 2022 with a groin injury that he reaggravated during the season when attempting to comeback from the initial injury. Molden has missed two games so far this year with a hamstring injury including the Titans' latest game against the Baltimore Ravens.

In the four games Molden has played, you could argue he has been better than Byard while acknowledging Molden played in a much more limited role. Molden has graded-out higher than Byard on the season according to Pro Football Focus.

In the four games Molden has played, he has had 20 tackles and one pass breakup. He has been thrown at eight times and only allowed six catches for 63 yards.

The truth is though that Molden has been playing in a third safety role where he is not tasked with as difficult of assignments as Byard or the other starter at safety, Amani Hooker. Molden is routinely asked to just cover deep and watch the action unfold in front of him.

Byard and Hooker are tasked with intermediate zones and man coverage. Can Molden succeed still when asked to take on more? That will be the question the Titans need to ask and answer by the end of the season.

Molden's performance in this expanded role will likely determine how needy the Titans are at the safety position come this offseason when they will have ample cap space and draft picks to reshape this broken roster.

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