The Tennessee Titans will open the 2024 regular season on Sunday afternoon against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois.
The Titans closed out the 2023 campaign with a record of 6-11, their worst since 2015. That led to a major overhaul of the coaching staff, and several notable personnel changes. Gone are Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry, and in are a plethora of new faces.
Expectations are somewhat mixed for the Titans entering the season — some anticipate an ugly rebuild with growing pains, while others see Tennessee as a potential surprise team.
As we enter Week 1, here’s a look at where the Titans place in a multitude of power rankings.
Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports
Parfum de Mayonnaise? We promise this won’t be the defining moment of the 2024 Titans … even if they probably jumped the gun with all these insane free agency expenditures.
Justin Ford/Getty Images
A new coach gets some fresh faces on offense, including Tony Pollard and Calvin Ridley. Will Levis is still the QB, and he has to show growth to be the player the franchise can consider a lock for the future. Getting Jarius Sneed from KC improves the secondary, but overall, don’t expect the Titans to improve as quickly as they fell.
Justin Ford/Getty Images
Jarrett Bailey, Touchdown Wire:
It’s clear that the Titans are doing their best to give Will Levis every chance to succeed. They signed Calvin Ridley and Tony Pollard, and added Chidobe Awuzie at cornerback, as well. The question is just how well will Levis play with all of the added help around him?
Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK
Dakota Randall, Pro Football Network:
We were (very) down on the Titans in our 2024 win-loss predictions. Yeah, Tennessee made some splashy offseason moves, but the jury is out on QB Will Levis, and the schedule is sneaky tough. Don’t be surprised if the Titans perform well below expectations despite earning a few impressive wins along the way.
Wesley Hitt/Getty Images
Vinnie Iyer, The Sporting News:
The Titans also blew up plenty offensively and defensively by hiring Brian Callahan and Dennard Wilson. Will Levis has better protection and improved all-around weaponry, while the defense should be schemed up well to produce more impact plays.
Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK
It appears DeAndre Hopkins’ knee injury won’t keep him out of the opener, which is big news. The Titans are an interesting team this season. They’re going to be passing a lot more, as we saw in the preseason. Maybe that change will be good, maybe it won’t, but it will be a big culture shift under Brian Callahan.
Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK
It almost never works out for the team making several big-splash signings in free agency, but almost every addition Tennessee made this spring patched up a major hole in this roster. If DeAndre Hopkins is healthy enough to suit up for Week 1, he and Calvin Ridley could provide an interesting combination of skill sets—even if Hopkins isn’t as dominant as he used to be. The addition of JC Latham should pay immediate dividends in the run game, and while Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears create some redundancy, splitting carries should keep both fresh enough to find explosive gains in an outside zone scheme. Will Levis has just enough of a supporting cast to allow for a clear evaluation of whether he can hack it as a starting quarterback.
I like the middle of this defense; rookie T’Vondre Sweat is flanked by Sebastian Joseph-Day and Jeffery Simmons, and Ernest Jones IV came over in a recent trade with the Rams. I’m curious to see how L’Jarius Sneed and Chidobe Awuzie work as a pair of corners, but new play caller Dennard Wilson should bring over some of the coverage schemes that worked well in Baltimore. The AFC is too loaded to expect Tennessee to make the playoffs, but this year’s team should be much easier on the eyes (ugly jerseys aside).
