During what was a frustrating 6-11 campaign, the Tennessee Titans had no shortage of disappointments, from individual players to entire position groups.
That fact shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, as we always knew this past season was going to be a roll of the dice for the Titans.
After all, the team was strapped for cash during the offseason and had to bet on upside at several positions, both with players already on the roster and free-agent signings.
Sometimes that works out — and in the case of some players on this past year’s team, it did — but when it doesn’t, things can get ugly.
In what is our latest look back at the 2023 season, we’re going to go over the team’s six most disappointing players.
WR Treylon Burks
Burks was pegged by many (myself included) as a potential breakout candidate in his second season — but quite the opposite happened.
Burks missed six games due to injury and wasn’t productive when on the field, finishing with just 16 catches for 221 score-less yards. He also struggled with some drops, contested catches and play balance.
Going into 2024, the Titans can’t rely on Burks for any semblance of a significant role, making wide receiver one of the team’s biggest needs.
TE Chig Okonkwo
Like Burks, Chig was considered a top breakout candidate and many pegged him as a potential star in the making after an impressive rookie campaign that saw him emerge in the second half once he got consistent playing time.
While, Chig finished the season strong and ended up tallying more yards than he did during his rookie campaign, he struggled mightily with drops, didn’t score a touchdown until Week 16 and only had two games with 60-plus yards.
It was great to see Okonkwo play much better down the stretch, but that doesn’t erase how terrible he was over the first 11 weeks.
He’s got to put together a complete season in 2024 if he truly wants to take that next step to being one of the better tight ends in the NFL.
LT Andre Dillard
I’m not sure anyone knew what to expect from Dillard in his first season as a full-time starter, but it’s safe to say nobody expected him to be the worst left tackle in the sport.
Dillard’s 12 sacks allowed were tied for the most in the NFL, and he was tied for 20th with 41 pressures allowed, per Pro Football Focus.
Bear in mind, Dillard was benched on multiple occasions during the season and didn’t play a single offensive snap in five games, so one can only imagine how much worse his numbers would’ve been.
It would be shocking if Dillard is in the two-tone blue in 2024. He no doubt tops the list of the Titans’ biggest cut candidates.
CB Kristian Fulton
Going into 2023, Fulton’s biggest problem was his inability to stay healthy, but the thought was that if he could stay on the field in a contract year he could become one of the league’s better cornerbacks.
However, Fulton struggled mightily in coverage, with the LSU product giving up a completion rate of 72.5 percent for 577 yards (15.6 yards per reception), three touchdowns and a passer rating of 129.3.
As if all that wasn’t enough, Fulton was flagged for six penalties, and most of those came at the absolute worst times. He also saw his season end early due to injury.
It’s highly unlikely that Fulton, who is set to hit free agency in 2024, will play another snap for the Titans.
WR Kyle Philips
We all thought the Titans might have something in Philips after his rookie debut in 2022 saw him tally six catches for 66 yards.
Unfortunately, it’s been all downhill from there. On top of his struggles in the return game, Philips has been plagued by injury over his first two seasons.
After his return to the field in 2023, Philips looked like he might start finding his stride with a few strong games in the middle of the season, but that still wasn’t enough for the Titans to give him more snaps the rest of the way.
Instead, Philips remained an afterthought and the team made the puzzling decision not to play him because of his lack of special teams value, even though the Titans clearly needed help at wide receiver.
As a result, I don’t blame the disappointing campaign entirely on Philips and hopefully a new head coach will realize the potential he possesses and will actually use him in 2024.
LB Monty Rice
Rice was considered the favorite to land a starting job opposite Azeez Al-Shaair, but after a mysterious absence in training camp, he ultimately took a backseat to former UDFA Jack Gibbens.
From there, Rice was relegated to special teams duty before finally getting some snaps at linebacker midway through the campaign.
The Georgia product did nothing with those snaps and was waived after Week 13, marking the end of yet another disappointing Jon Robinson draft pick in Nashville.
OLB Trevis Gipson
When the Titans signed Gipson following his release from the Chicago Bears, all we could talk about was how great of a fit he’d be in Tennessee, as he was moving to a defensive system that was more suited to his abilities.
Instead, Gipson was barely utilized, with the Titans making him a healthy scratch in nine of their 17 games.
In the eight games he did play, Gipson never saw more than 21 snaps, and he was on the field for single-digit or zero defensive snaps in five of those eight.
Granted, the Titans’ strongest position was the one Gipson played, making it tough to get him on the field. However, at the very least, some of Rashad Weaver’s snaps should’ve gone to him.
