The Tennessee Titans released their latest unofficial depth chart on Monday ahead of their Week 1 game against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, September 10.
While the latest version did answer some questions we still had, others went unanswered, like the backup quarterback situation, for example, something head coach Mike Vrabel said is still up in the air.
Buy Titans Tickets“I think a lot of it is based on game plan, about who we feel who would step in there and help us,” Vrabel said, per Jim Wyatt. “Will has been out a little bit (injured), but we’re excited to get him back this week and (we’ll) continue with Malik’s maturity and kind of see where it goes at the end of the week.”
Two other spots that remain mysteries are CB2 and kick returner, as those positions were separated by slashes, also. We’ll go into detail about those situations and more below.
But first, here’s a look at the depth chart.
Now, the takeaways:
Jack Gibbens listed as starter
No surprise here at all, as Gibbens has long been projected to be the starter since he began seeing the majority of first-team reps in training camp. Not ideal for Monty Rice, but he’ll likely still see snaps in a rotational role and have an opportunity to work his way up the depth chart if he plays well.
One of two return jobs settled
The kick return job hasn’t been settled yet, as wide receiver Kearis Jackson and running backs Tyjae Spears and Julius Chestnut are all separated by slashes.
However, the punt return spot is slash-free with Jackson at the top, followed by safety Amani Hooker, who I hope we never see return a punt, especially considering his injury history.
I tend to believe the Titans will give the explosive Spears a look as a kick returner to start the season — and I think he’ll be very good in that role — but we may not know for sure until kickoff.
Co-starters at CB2
It’s possible the slash between Sean Murphy-Bunting and Roger McCreary just signifies the latter is the starting slot corner, but we can’t say for sure. Typically, slashes mean a starter hasn’t been decided yet.
The expectation has been that SMB will get at least the majority of snaps on the outside opposite Kristian Fulton, with McCreary mixing in there while also serving as Tennessee’s primary slot cornerback.
Fellow slot corner, Elijah Molden, who is listed at safety once again, will likely see work on the inside, also.
Dillon Radunz is RT2 and RG2
Radunz unexpectedly returned from the PUP list prior to final cuts and now finds himself as the top backup at two spots, right guard and right tackle, with the third-year pro even listed ahead of Corey Levin at the former position.
That gives Radunz two avenues to move into a starting spot, with the right tackle job being more likely considering current starter, Chris Hubbard, is probably the biggest question mark of the group.
No answer for QB2
As we wrote in the introduction, Vrabel made it clear on Monday that the team hasn’t settled on who its QB2 is and that was confirmed on the latest depth chart, with Malik Willis and Will Levis being separated by a slash.
It looks like we may not know who the first man off the bench is until one of them is needed, which hopefully never happens.
