NFL offseason power rankings: No. 32 Tennessee Titans hope Cam Ward puts them back on the map

When the Tennessee Titans fired general manager Ran Carthon, a year after practically choosing him over coach Mike Vrabel in a power struggle, it made the Titans look like a directionless franchise.

It was actually a moment of clarity. Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk provided a blunt and grim assessment of where her franchise was.

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“It’s impossible to ignore that our football team hasn’t improved over the past two years,” Strunk said in a statement. “I am deeply disappointed in our poor win-loss record during this period, of course, but my decision also speaks to my concern about our long-term future should we stay the course.”

A 3-14 season was a wake-up call. The Titans not only fell to the bottom of the NFL, they slid deep into obscurity. Tennessee was truly awful but other than regular Will Levis memes and first-year head coach Brian Callahan’s outward hostility toward Levis, nobody cared. They had no identity, no marketable star, a decayed roster and only one hope for the future.

That hope was the first pick of the draft. The Titans could have traded that pick or taken Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter, but they knew the best path back to relevance was hitting on a pick at quarterback. That’s why Cam Ward is a Titan.

Ward, the only true standout quarterback prospect in a weak draft class at the position, provides gives Tennessee a chance at an identity going forward. He’s used to starting at the bottom, too, after beginning his college journey at Incarnate Word. He started there because he had no FBS scholarship offers.

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Ward’s first college game was on Feb. 27, 2021, after Incarnate Word opted to play a spring schedule after COVID-19. It was at McNeese State and 2,394 people were in attendance. His final game that season, at Sam Houston State, the official attendance was 743.

The Titans aren’t Incarnate Word, but Ward isn’t starting at the top of the food chain in his NFL career either. Over Tennessee’s last 22 seasons, the Titans have won three division titles. Since losing Super Bowl XXXIV on Jan. 30, 2000, they’ve won only five playoff games. The franchise has never won a Super Bowl. Since hitting on Steve McNair many years ago the the Titans have tried over and over to find a quarterback in the first three rounds of the draft: Vince Young, Jake Locker, Marcus Mariota, Malik Willis, Levis. Young, Locker and Mariota were all picked in the top eight overall. None of them succeeded.

In steps Ward, who set an NCAA record with 158 touchdown passes at Incarnate Word, Washington State and then Miami.

“His journey is unique,” Callahan said. “He’s experienced a lot of things when it comes to new places, new faces, new teammates, and his ability to connect with all of them was incredibly impressive.”

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There’s a long way to go and Ward won’t fix all of that. There were a few bright spots on the roster — Jeffery Simmons is a star on the defensive line, 2024 rookies DT T’Vondre Sweat and CB Jarvis Brownlee Jr. had promising debuts, Tony Pollard and Calvin Ridley had 1,000-yard seasons in a bad situation — but rebuilding will take a while. If Ward hits, at least that’s a start.

“All I need is one shot and I’ll make the most of it,” Ward said. “For them to draft me number one overall I know they won’t regret it. I’ll make sure they don’t.”

Offseason grade

Drafting Cam Ward was the easy part. The Titans’ miserable season earned them the first pick, and it quickly became clear Ward was worth that pick. Building around Ward is the big step. The team tried improving a below average offensive line, signing tackle Dan Moore Jr. to a four-year, $82 million deal. Moore was overpaid, but it’s hard to find offensive line help. The Titans also signed veteran guard Kevin Zeitler. Those acquisitions, along with 2023 first-round pick Peter Skoronski, 2024 first-round pick JC Latham and center Lloyd Cushenberry, should calm down the line. There were additions to the defense including linebacker Cody Barton, edge defender Dre’Mont Jones and safety Xavier Woods in free agency and outside linebacker Oluwafemi Oladejo in the second round of the draft. It was an OK start to a long-term project.

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Grade: B-

Quarterback report

Cam Ward clearly separated himself in a quarterback draft class that didn’t have another QB go in the top 24 picks. Ward’s production in college is undeniable. He had 18,184 career passing yards with 158 touchdowns and also rushed for 20 touchdowns. His NFL traits are good too. He does everything at a high level, even if his arm strength isn’t necessarily top tier (read this breakdown of Ward from Yahoo Sports’ Nate Tice for an in-depth look). Given Ward’s skill set and his long college career, having played 57 games at three schools, it’s possible he has an immediate impact. The upside of the NIL/transfer era in college football is quarterbacks like Ward coming in with an abundance of experience.

BetMGM odds breakdown

From Yahoo’s Ben Fawkes: “The Titans were an almost impossible 2-15 against the spread last season — the worst ATS mark for any team in the Super Bowl era. Even after drafting QB Cam Ward No. 1 overall, they are only favored in two games this season and don’t have any prime-time matchups. With 200-to-1 Super Bowl odds at BetMGM, it could be another long season in Nashville.”

Yahoo’s fantasy take

From Yahoo’s Scott Pianowski: “Calvin Ridley is no longer an exciting fantasy player entering his age-31 season. But he’s also the best target in the Tennessee receiver room, and now that the Titans have a credible QB starter in Cam Ward, Ridley could be an interesting value play. Ridley currently holds an affordable sticker price of WR36, something he can easily beat in a healthy season. This is also a show of faith in play designer Brian Callahan, who knew how to utilize Ridley last year.”

Stat to remember

Last season the Titans had a -16 turnover margin. Only the Las Vegas Raiders, at -22, were worse. The obvious culprit was bad quarterback play. Will Levis threw 12 interceptions (and they always seemed to come at the exact worst time) and Mason Rudolph had nine. The Titans also lost 13 fumbles, and their 34 giveaways were tied for the most in the NFL. Then there wasn’t much playmaking on defense. Safety Amani Hooker had five interceptions and no other Titans player had more than one. Getting the defense to make more plays should be a big priority. But little will change unless the Titans take better care of the ball. If Cam Ward can be reasonably safe and avoid having a huge turnover season, that alone will be an upgrade for Tennessee.

Burning question

Is Brian Callahan the right answer?

The Titans’ official line after a bad season was that Callahan was a new head coach and new play-caller, and that it was going to take more than a year for him to grow into his job.

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“Brian was one of the hottest candidates last year on the market, and we believe in Brian, and we want to give him the opportunity to grow into the head coach that we think he can be,” Titans president of football operations Chad Brinker told the team’s site. “He knows, and we’ve talked about it, that it wasn’t good enough this year.”

It’s fine to be patient, but there weren’t many tangible reasons to be optimistic that Callahan will be a great coach. The Titans didn’t get better. His outbursts at Will Levis’ mistakes were a bit startling. Callahan didn’t have a lot on his résumé other than being an offensive coordinator with the Bengals who didn’t call plays. He had a positive reputation around the league and that’s why he was hired, but the Titans would have been justified to move on after one horrific season. They’re sticking with their evaluation of Callahan, but the results better improve this season.

Best case scenario

It wasn’t like everyone was high on the 2023 Texans or 2024 Commanders. One home run pick at quarterback can change everything. It’s very hard to believe the Titans will ascend to a playoff spot like those two aforementioned teams, but that shouldn’t be the realistic goal anyway. If an improved offensive line helps Cam Ward, Ward hits his rookie ceiling and a defense that wasn’t too bad last season takes even a modest step forward (getting 2024 bust L’Jarius Sneed healthy would help), the Titans could flirt with a .500 record. That would be a great season for the Titans.

Nightmare scenario

We could see a scenario like the 2024 Bears, where it’s clear pretty early on that the No. 1 overall pick at quarterback was saddled with a coaching staff that should not have gotten another season. Firing coaches after only one season should only happen in Urban Mayer-level disaster situations, but there were few signs that Brian Callahan is a good head coach. It would be rough to figure out shortly into Cam Ward’s career that maybe the 2024 Titans record wasn’t all Will Levis’ fault. Ward should be a good player for the Titans, though that’s impossible to know yet. The job gets a lot tougher if the offensive line isn’t great, a thin skill position group doesn’t help and the coaching staff proves to be inept. Wasting a year of Ward wouldn’t be fun, though then Tennessee would pick early again in the 2026 NFL Draft.

The crystal ball says

The Cam Ward pick was the right one and he’ll be a good player. That doesn’t mean he’s going to be C.J. Stroud or Jayden Daniels right away. This seems more like incremental improvement for the Titans, with a lot of losses this season but confidence by the end of the season that Ward is the right foundational piece. Then next offseason will bring some more talent to lift the roster.