What We Learned From The Tennessee Titans First Week of OTAs

Written By Jack Loeb

This past week the Titans completed their first week of OTAs at Ascension St. Thomas Sports Park. It was the first instance that vets and rookies hit the field in conjunction. The 3 day practice period saw plenty of action from Will Levis, Calvin Ridley, JC Latham, DeAndre Hopkins, Jeffrey Simmons, Tyler Boyd and more. It’s important to note that none of OTA’s are specifically competitive. Mostly players aren’t getting physical with one another and/or willing to put themselves into dangerous situations where otherwise they might in training camp when it comes to making the final 53.

One of the biggest signings of the free agency period — Calvin Ridley — showed out quickly at OTAs. Ridley’s burst of speed looks second to none on the team. The Titans are hoping to see a lot of that this season for their star receiver. If Ridley can form an early connection with QB Will Levis the two should be in store for big things this 2024 season. Ridley looked very clean coming into and out of his breaks, as well as continuously catching the football with his strong hands. The Titans have desperately needed a receiver the past few years that has speed and the ability to get up and catch balls away from the defender. Calvin Ridley is starting to show the early signs of those key wide receiver traits that have been missing since the departure of A.J. Brown.

The Titans also got their first look at Tyler Boyd in two-tone blue this past week. Boyd looked slick and comfortable in the few practices that he’s had with the Titans. Boyd will have a crucial role this season as the primary slot wide receiver for Tennessee this year. I previously wrote in depth about what adding Tyler Boyd means to the Titans here. His best work will come in working short to intermediate routes in the middle of the field. Already, Tyler Boyd has seen similarities between what Callahan and Zac Taylor had in Cincinnati which will make his transition all the more smooth.

In addition to the similarity that Boyd already has with the Titans offense Boyd’s now working on on gaining chemistry with Levis. Below is an excerpt from his time with local media detailing such.

Not only has the WR corps seen an upgrade the Titans OL has too. JC Latham, Lloyd Cushenberry, and Saahdiq Charles were added this offseason and each got to work during OTAs. JC Latham has been getting his work in early this OTA session. Latham consistently looks like one of the biggest men on the field. At 6’6 340lbs he’s looking to lock down the left side of the line with 2nd year Left Guard Peter Skoronski — who’s looking to take his next step off a year that saw him struggling at times after fighting all year to rebound back from an emergency appendectomy. The Titans OL biggest form of action has come at the expense of Bertha and Olga. Those are the nicknames for the 2 sleds that Bill Callahan designed to better mimic a defender coming off the line of scrimmage.

Here’s the intention behind the design mechanism from the Rae Crowther Co:

Essentially the “S” shaped pad mimic’s a DL firing off the line of scrimmage. The offensive lineman needs to fire their hands into the armpits or chest of the dummy to lift and drive the dummy with their hips, and extension of their elbows. Early in rookie minicamp JC Latham was seen struggling with Bertha. However, after learning how to attack and drive the sled he seems to have little trouble moving the 380lb obstacle. Something so small and seemingly non-important is precisely why bringing in Bill Callahan will pay dividends come this fall. Now, no, Bill Callahan isn’t the only coach using it — however, coming from the Mike Vrabel era innovation was hardly a word that would escape Asencsion St. Thomas Sports Park.

This is Will Levis’ first offseason that he is the undisputed starter and no longer having to share 2nd and 3rd string snaps with Malik Willis. So far he’s looked the part as the Titans’ leader in OTAs. The caveat is that most of Levis’ work has come either against air or extremely lackadaisical defensive coverage. Although, it’s still encouraging to see that he isn’t just wildly innacurate.

Switching over to the other side of the ball some of the biggest headlines from OTAs revolved around who we didn’t see. L’Jarius Sneed, Jeffrey Simmons, and Harold Landry were absent as first reported by Turron Davenport of ESPN. However, a later follow up reported that L’Jarius Sneed is in the building and working on maintenance. T’Vondre Sweat was also absent from the field day 2 and 3 with what Brian Callahan mentioned as rehab. An early report claims that it isn’t something serious but rather minor for Sweat’s rehab from injury.

Keep in mind that for Simmons and Landry these OTAs aren’t mandatory and many players decide to skip it altogether in favor of their own workout routine.

Next Up:

The Titans will begin to ramp up their practice intensity and installing more of the offensive and defensive playbook. This upcoming week the Titans will practice on May 28-29 and again on May 31 to end the second week of OTAs.

Jack Loeb https://twitter.com/jakjack91
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