The Tennessee Titans are entering the 2023 season with one of the more inexperienced linebacker groups in the NFL. Not a single one of the Titans’ starting options at inside linebacker eclipsed 500 defensive snaps last season.
Ben Niemann led the way with 484 snaps, while Monty Rice, Azeez Al-Shaair and Jack Gibbens each tallied fewer than 400 defensive snaps.
This type of inexperience is a major reason why Dalton Wasserman of Pro Football Focus had the Titans’ linebacker unit ranked No. 29 overall in a recent article where he ranked each team’s inside linebackers room.
Here is what Wasserman had to say about the Titans’ ranking:
Former 49er Azeez Al-Shaair figures to take one starting spot. He’s a proven run defender who hopefully learned some of Fred Warner’s coverage skills in San Francisco.
Alongside Al-Shaair could be veteran Ben Niemann, who also played well in a part-time role for the Cardinals. Third-year man Monty Rice also lingers as an option who played reasonably well last year for the Titans. Tennessee will just have to wait and see if any of these players will step up when given the lion’s share of snaps.
As intriguing as some of the Titans’ young options are, you really can’t blame anybody for being skeptical about the unit as a whole considering there’s only one linebacker in the room (Al-Shaair) who has at least one season in which they totaled a minimum of 700 defensive snaps.
Back in 2021, the former 49ers linebacker was forced into the starting lineup for the majority of the season, and he more than held his own.
Al-Shaair started a combined 13 games that year, tallying 102 tackles, nine tackles for loss, two sacks, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble, and one interception.
The Titans will be tasked with trying to get the Florida Atlantic product to improve upon that type of production now that Al-Shaair will presumably have his chance to be a full-time starter in 2023.
When it comes to the rest of the group, this is the type of opportunity that can elevate a player’s career if truly seized.
Rice, Niemann, Gifford and Gibbens (among others) have a chance to go from being reliable depth pieces to an integral part of an NFL defense if they can find a way to win that vacant starting spot.
Regardless of who ends up winning it, don’t expect to see Tennessee’s crop of inside backers getting the benefit of the doubt from many people. This young group will have to earn respect on the field come the fall.
