Titans Get Rough AFC South Prediction

The Tennessee Titans aren't expected to make much noise in the AFC South.

Tennessee Titans running back Tyjae Spears (32) runs for a touchdown after breaking several Jacksonville Jaguars tackles in the first quarter of their game at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024. / Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA

The Tennessee Titans are coming off a fourth-place finish in the AFC South last season, so they made moves to try and change their fortunes.

It started by firing Mike Vrabel after six seasons coaching the team and replacing him with Brian Callahan, who was last the offensive coordinator with the Cincinnati Bengals since 2019. The team also made some personnel changes, adding wide receiver Calvin Ridley in free agency and cornerback L'Jarius Sneed in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs.

However, the new coaching staff tethered to second-year quarterback Will Levis is enough of a reason for Bleacher Report writer Maurice Moton to predict another last-place finish for the Titans in the division.

"The Tennessee Titans are a team with several unknowns, which makes it hard to believe they will be much better than last year despite their splashy offseason acquisitions," Moton writes. "The Titans have a first-time head coach and offensive play-caller, Brian Callahan, a new full-time starting quarterback, Will Levis, and a first-time defensive play-caller, Dennard Wilson. The Titans could be the biggest surprise in the NFL with inexperienced individuals in key roles, but they will probably experience the expected growing pains as they foster a new identity under Callahan's staff."

As talented as the roster is around Levis, there are still several holes that need to be plugged in on the offensive and defensive lines. On top of that, the team lost its two top tacklers on defense in Azeez Al-Shaair and Denico Autry, who both signed with the division rival Houston Texans.

The Texans were projected to finish first in the division at 12-5, while the Indianapolis Colts had a 9-8 projection and the Jacksonville Jaguars finished at 8-9. All three of those teams were on top of the division at one point last season, and all finished above .500 at the end of the year. That also is part of the reason behind the projection, but the Titans could finish like the Texans did last year and go from worst to first.

However, they are going to need to make some major Texans-like changes in order to do that, and the Titans simply don't have the means to make that dynamic of a shift in one season.

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