After cementing himself as one of the Tennessee Titans’ starters at linebacker in 2021, David Long is poised to have his best season yet in 2022.
And that’s something NFL Network’s Adam Rank agrees with. In his “State of the 2022 Tennessee Titans” article, Rank tabs Long as the Titans’ breakout star for 2022.
The Titans had some critical losses on defense, including linebackers Jayon Brown and Rashaan Evans. That leaves Long, who needs to step up and show the promise he flashed last season, when injuries limited him to just 10 games. Long is one of those guys who has always risen to the occasion. After initially redshirting at West Virginia, he eventually emerged to become Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. And despite being the 188th overall player — and second David Long — selected in the 2019 draft, the ‘backer has been a factor, making some key plays in his young career. If he stays healthy — I know, always the caveat — Long could be a big-time leader for the Titans this season.
While Titans fans and media have rightly gone after Rank in the past for bad Titans takes, he has had some good ones recently. He correctly predicted the Titans to go 12-5 last season, and he has them winning the AFC South again in 2022 with a 10-7 mark.
This take on Long is his latest good one, although we beg to differ that losing Jayon Brown and Rashaan Evans matters, as both were supplanted by Long and Zach Cunningham last season.
We already knew Long was a good tackler and thumper in the run game, but he greatly improved in coverage last season, also, showing he has the potential to be a fantastic all-around player.
Long’s 70.7 percent completion rate allowed was nearly a 15-percent improvement from the year prior despite his having seven more passes thrown his way. In addition, his 61.0 passer rating allowed was nearly a stunning 50-point decrease from the 110.5 he posted in 2021.
On top of continuing to improve in coverage, we’d like to see Long play a full slate of games, something he has yet to do in his career. Long missed seven games in 2021 due to injury.
If Long can stay healthy and continue on his current trajectory, he’ll emerge as one of the best linebackers in the NFL in 2022, and it would come at a perfect time, as he’s set to hit free agency in 2023.
