Analyzing Titans’ first unofficial depth chart of 2022
On Monday, the Tennessee Titans revealed their first unofficial depth chart of 2022 ahead of their first preseason game on Thursday against the Baltimore Ravens.
Before we get to the details, it’s hard to glean too much from the very first depth chart, especially when the Titans will do just about anything to keep information close to the vest.
However, there were a few interesting things of note to talk about.
In order to not give away anything in terms of who is winning the starting competitions in camp, the Titans used slashes to denote co-starters in some spots, and there’s one very interesting one at the starting cornerback spot.
That’s just one of the noteworthy things we see on Tennessee’s first unofficial depth chart of 2022. Here’s a look at the entire depth chart on offense, defense and special teams, and a little analysis for each.
Note: Depth chart pecking order goes from left to right, and then down to the next row and from left to right again.
Offense
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Starter | Backup | Backup | |
QB | Ryan Tannehill | Logan Woodside | Malik Willis |
RB | Derrick Henry | Dontrell Hilliard Jordan Wilkins Hassan Haskins | Tory Carter (FB) Trenton Cannon Julius Chestnut |
WR | Robert Woods | Kyle Philips Mason Kinsey | Dez Fitzpatrick Terry Godwin Brandon Lewis |
WR | Nick Westbrook-Ikhine | Treylon Burks Cody Hollister | Racey McMath Josh Malone Reggie Roberson |
TE | Austin Hooper | Chig Okonkwo | Briley Moore |
TE | Geoff Swaim | Tommy Hudson | Thomas Odukoya |
LT | Taylor Lewan | Christian DiLauro | Jalen McKenzie |
LG | Aaron Brewer/Jamarco Jones | Xavier Newman | |
C | Ben Jones | Corey Levin | Hayden Howerton Willie Wright |
RG | Nate Davis | Jordan Roos | Andrew Rupcich |
RT | Dillon Radunz/Nicholas Petit-Frere | Carson Green |
Takeaways
The Titans have slashes between Radunz and Petit-Frere at right tackle, and Brewer and Jones at left guard, denoting that neither competition has been decided yet.
Petit-Frere is the only Titans rookie on offense to sniff a starting spot on the depth chart, which isn’t unusual, as Tennessee has typically put its rookies in backup spots on past early depth charts.
Treylon Burks and Kyle Philips are listed as the backups to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Robert Woods, respectively. Haskins is far down among running backs, also.
The Titans have opted to use two starting tight end spots on their depth chart instead of a third wide receiver spot. Hooper and Swaim are listed as the starters there, with Okonkwo and Hudson as the primary backups.
At quarterback, Willis falls behind Woodside for the No. 2 job. We’ve expected that would be the case all along, as the Titans are unlikely to want Willis one injury away from seeing the field before he’s ready. And, from all accounts, Woodside is doing a god job earning the No. 2 role.
Defense
AP Photo/Mark Humphrey
Starter | Backup | Backup | |
DE | Denico Autry | DeMarcus Walker | Da’Shawn Hand Larrell Murchison |
NT | Teair Tart | Naquan Jones | Jayden Peevy Haskell Garrett |
DT | Jeffery Simmons | Kevin Strong | Sam Okuayinonu |
OLB | Bud Dupree | Rashad Weaver | |
OLB | Harold Landry | Ola Adeniyi | Justin Lawler David Anenih |
ILB | David Long | Chance Campbell | Monty Rice (PUP) Jack Gibbens |
ILB | Zach Cunningham | Dylan Cole | Joe Jones |
CB | Caleb Farley/Roger McCreary | Greg Mabin Tre Avery | Shyheim Carter Tre Swilling |
CB | Kristian Fulton | Elijah Molden Shakur Brown | Chris Jackson Kenneth George Terrell Bonds |
S | Kevin Byard | A.J. Moore | Joshua Kalu |
S | Amani Hooker | Theo Jackson | Michael Griffin II |
Analysis
The biggest thing to come from the defensive depth chart is the situation at cornerback, where Farley and McCreary are listed as co-starters. It appears there’s a bit more competition for that starting spot than we initially thought.
Of course, we know McCreary has been sensational in camp while Farley has struggled a bit, but it would still be surprising to see the Titans opt for McCreary over Farley for that starting spot. Keep an eye on that.
Murchison is listed as the fourth defensive end, which is troublesome for his attempt to make the roster. The former fifth-round pick has not done much in training camp outside of a good day on Sunday.
At nose tackle, Tart is listed ahead of Jones, but our belief is the pair will split time at the position in 2022.
At inside linebacker, Rice is listed behind Campbell, but we probably shouldn’t read too much into that, as it’s likely a result of the 2021 third-round pick being on the PUP list.
Special teams
Syndication: The Tennessean
Starter | Backup | Backup | |
K | Randy Bullock | Caleb Shudak (PUP) | |
KO | Randy Bullock | Caleb Shudak (PUP) | |
P | Brett Kern | Ryan Stonehouse | |
H | Brett Kern | Ryan Stonehouse | Logan Woodside |
PR | Kyle Philips | Mason Kinsey | Reggie Roberson |
KOR | Dontrell Hilliard | Trenton Cannon | Mason Kinsey |
LS | Morgan Cox | Ben Jones |
Analysis
No real surprises here. The starting kicker, punter and long snapper are all who we expected.
On returns, Philips and Hilliard are listed as the starters for punts and kickoffs, respectively. Hilliard fielded kicks for Tennessee in 2021, and Philips has been working at both spots in training camp.
Not seeing Burks listed among the returners gives us hope that the Titans will think the better of using him there. Now, that’s not to say Burks wouldn’t be good at it, but he’s far too important to the offense to risk an injury in the return game.
