What to Know Before the Titans Take on the Seahawks
This past week the Titans held a joint practice with the Seattle Seahawks at Ascension St. Thomas Sports Park. The Titans will take on the Seahawks at 6pm local time at Nissan Stadium for their last home game of the preseason. The Titans will be looking to see how they stack up against Seattle while playing most of their backups for the game.
Head Coach Brian Callahan told reporters Thursday that “the starters won’t play on Saturday night.” Thus, Malik Willis will get the start Saturday night at QB. The backup QB position could be make or break with a great or poor showing from Malik Willis. Mason Rudolph didn’t do much in his debut last week with the Titans as he failed to convert drives to points on the board against 2nd and 3rd stringers. Back to Willis — this may be the breakout opportunity that he needs to cement himself as the backup QB to Will Levis. What Malik gives with his legs is well known. He can be very slippery and he’s fast. Problem is over the last few years ball security and passing has been his biggest weakness as a QB.
With the starters resting this preseason game it gives plenty of opportunities to rookies and young players on the roster to make the 53. I expect that the most pivotal player for the Titans to make the roster will be the last WR. Thus leads us to Jha’Quan Jackson and Kearis Jackson who should see plenty of reps on offense and special teams. Last week’s game against the 49ers showcased both Jacksons’s abilities to create big plays in the special teams game. This past week in joint practices Jha’Quan Jackson has been standing out at WR. The rookie WR out of Tulane is quick and agile which bodes well for the future slot WR and KR/PR of the Titans. I suspect with his continued growth at the WR position and his innate ability to wiggle and speed past defenders. Keep an eye out for number 19 on your TV sets Saturday night.
On the defensive side of the ball expect to see plenty of Gabe Jeudy-Lally, James Williams, and Matthew Jackson as they look to earn their roster spots. Both Jeudy-Lally and Matthew Jackson have a tough hill to climb if they want to make the roster. However, Jeudy-Lally probably has the best chance to make the 53 man roster if he can best Tre Avery. Last year Tre Avery had his moments. However, the entirety of his body of work wasn’t good enough. If the Titans can get a younger and more adept play out of Jeudy-Lally expect the Titans to favor Jeudy Lally over Avery for that last positional spot on the CB depth chart. Jarvis Brownlee Jr. should start opposite Avery or Jeudy-Lally if I were making the decisions. However, if the Titans decide to sit Brownlee Jr. they’d be admitting that they consider him a starter and have him ranked higher on the depth chart than Avery. Regardless, that’s a good problem to have if Jarvis Brownlee Jr. is already considered to be above Avery on the Titans CB depth chart. It’s no secret that Caleb Farley is likely to be cut this year and that will all but assure he won’t play in the NFL again. Farley injured his hamstring late last week during practice. I don’t see anyway that Farley continues to play for this organization. He’s been an enigma for 3 years straight and last week was probably the last time you saw him in a Titans uniform.
James Williams and Keondre Coburn had big games last week against the 49ers as players looking to make the 53 man roster. They’ll once again have an opportunity to show that they belong on an NFL roster. Look for them to get more snaps with the starters sitting. Williams was originally a safety at Miami (FL) before the Titans converted him to ILB. According to PFF Williams was the highest rated run defender from the 1st week of preseason games. If he can continue to be a force at ILB the Titans will have a good problem at ILB with their depth. In addition, with the recent loss of Marlon Davidson to a season ending injury, Coburn has a clearer path to making the final 53.
The Titans’ penultimate preseason game will undoubtedly be missing fan favorites. However, the opportunity for depth across the roster will be abundant if you know where to look. Positional matchups at almost every level of this Titans team are within the grasp of many players hoping for a job this fall.
