Molden Proves He is a Quick Study

After a slow start, the Tennessee Titans rookie cornerback is learning how to match up with speedier NFL receivers.

NASHVILLE – We all learn life lessons on a daily basis.

It’s just that, for most of us, they don’t come in front of a stadium full of 60,000 fans and a television audience of hundreds of thousands more.

That was the case for Tennessee Titans rookie cornerback Elijah Molden, who endured a two-Sunday NFL baptism by fire on the most public of all platforms at the beginning of this season. The enduring memories of Molden’s first two games were of the third-round draft pick running yards behind open receivers, unsuccessfully trying to close the gap on Arizona’s Christian Kirk (Week One) and Seattle’s Tyler Lockett (Week Two), both of whom wound up scoring on touchdown receptions that totaled a combined 89 yards.

Welcome to the next level, young man. Hope you held on to all those nice memories and awards at the University of Washington.

“In college, I think I gave up maybe one or two touchdowns (total),” Molden said. “And then – boom – the first two games, I gave up two touchdowns.”

Molden’s miscues earned him an early seat on the bench in Seattle, doubly difficult to digest since it came in front of so many friends and family in Lumen Field. The slot cornerback remained sidelined defensively for the better part of the next two games, playing 10 snaps against Indianapolis and zero against the New York Jets.

It was clearly time for a re-boot, a realization that the transition to the NFL game was more than Molden might have expected.

“In college, the quarterbacks I faced, their arm talent isn’t like what it is at this level,” Molden said. “So, you didn’t necessarily have to worry about the vertical shots. But now you have that at any point, so it’s just kind of knowing formations and keeping everything in front of you.”

The remolding of Molden included the acknowledgement he never would be the swiftest of defensive backs – he ran a 4.6 40-yard dash at Washington’s pro day – with the hope that he would find ways of countering a lack of blazing speed. Jamming some receivers early. Giving others more cushion in the slot. Realizing where his safety help was on each play. Using leverage to move receivers where he wanted.

Molden learned how to improve in all those departments in a very short time.

“If you’re a young player in this league, I think you (come to) understand what you’re really good at and the things you’re not great at,” Titans safety Kevin Byard said. “We all have positives and weaknesses.

“You try to do your best to show your positives and let that shine, and kind of hide your weaknesses -- whether it’s that some receivers I might have to play a little deeper on because they may be a little faster than me, or that some guys I can really be aggressive with, depending on what the call is.”

In his return to the big stage, Molden tackled his first challenge head on – quite literally.

On Jacksonville’s third play from scrimmage, the 5-foot-10, 192-pound Molden executed a perfect tackle on 6-foot-6, 220-pound tight end Dan Arnold. His helmet knocked the football out of Arnold’s hands and onto the ground, where Byard scooped it up and ran 30 yards into the end zone for the game’s first score – one minute into the contest.

“I think that kind of got my confidence back,” Molden said. “But you also have to be careful by living or dying by one good play. Because it can go the opposite way. I can give up a touchdown like I have, so it’s all about staying on an even keel.”

Molden’s success over the past two couple of weeks – against Buffalo and Kansas City – might be measured more by the plays we haven’t seen than those we have. Sure, he recorded a combined 16 tackles in those games. Sure, he played 141 of a combined 149 defensive snaps.

What’s most important, is that in neither of the games did he surrender the back-breaking big touchdown pass, the kind that sunk him in his first two NFL games. In the Bills contest, Molden surrendered two completions on four targets for 24 yards, per Pro Football Focus. He wasn’t as successful against the Chiefs, allowing six catches on eight targets for 66 yards – including a 25-yard reception. But the Titans can live with growing pains, as long as they don’t turn into growing deficits on the scoreboard.

“I think he’s gaining confidence every day,” Titans defensive coordinator Shane Bowen said. “I think he’s understanding kind of his role and the expectation of him in certain calls and where his help is, and all those little things. I think he’s growing.”

Added Byard: “I think he’s aggressive, he’s smart, he’s savvy. I think all those different things make a really good football player.”

Molden’s hope is that the longer his rookie season lasts, the more distant those early memories – seeing the wrong side of receivers’ jersey numbers in front of him -- will become.

He understands he had to learn, however publicly. But he has no interest in repeating them.

“It was going to happen one way or the other,” Molden said. “That’s something I felt like – in the moment – it was terrible.

“But I also felt like that was a defining moment of my career. A couple years down the road, I’ll say I’m glad it happened.”