The Titans’ Youth Movement is in Full Swing as Their Secondary Makeover Continues

Once it became clear that the Tennessee Titans would not be competitive this season, questions began swirling about which veterans would be traded or released, and how much playing time rookies and other young players would get.

On offense, rookies Chimere Dike, Elic Ayomanor, and Gunnar Helm have become Cam Ward’s go-to receivers (partly due to Calvin Ridley being injured). Even before Ridley’s injury, though, Ayomanor was making plays. Since the Ridley injury, it’s been Dike’s turn. Helm has been steadily more involved in the Titans' offense, scoring his first touchdown in Week 8 against the Colts. And it was on National Tight Ends Day as well. 

However, the Titans’ youth injection on defense has flown a bit more under the radar. It is mainly taking place in the secondary, and the players getting game time have not had the same positive effects as the youngsters on offense. 

It started with the Titans trading starting cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr. to the Jets.

Brownlee was struggling with the Titans but has since performed better in New York, including making a game-sealing play to help the Jets get their first win of the season in Week 8.

This week, another starting cornerback was traded. Nickelback Roger McCreary was sent to the LA Rams. 

Both trades earned the Titans a draft pick or two, but for now, the Titans are short at the corner position. 

Also, because L’Jarius Sneed landed on IR a couple of weeks ago after sustaining a quad injury. 

That leaves the Titans with four healthy cornerbacks on their depth chart. Darrell Baker Jr is listed as questionable after he was evaluated for a concussion in Week 8.

The four healthy corners, Samuel Womack, Marcus Harris, Micah Robinson, and Jalyn Armour-Davis, are either rookies or in their first season with the Titans. 

Baker is only in his second season, and this is the first one in which he has seen significant playing time. 

Harris is a sixth-round pick who has played in seven games this season, but none as a starter. 

Robinson is a seventh-round pick who was just signed off the Green Bay Packers’ practice squad after the McCreary trade. 

Womack was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in 2022, played a full season before getting injured, and then he played a full season with the Indianapolis Colts last year. He has just started seeing some action with the Titans over the past couple of weeks. 

Armour-Davis, meanwhile, has had worse injury luck than Womack, not appearing in more than eight games in any of his three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. He joined the Titans before this season, just like Womack. 

The Titans have struggled defensively this season, and while the outcome of the games is mostly irrelevant for now, it is interesting to see them trading players at a position where they have the least depth. 

It is also interesting that while cornerback is arguably the Titans’ weakest position on defense, their safeties are very talented. Amani Hooker and Xavier Woods have both had positive moments this season. Backup Quandre Diggs is a stable veteran presence. And rookie third-round pick Kevin Winston Jr has a bright future.

The current crop of cornerbacks probably isn't inspiring much confidence right now for the Titans and their fans. But the mentality in sports is always “next man up,” whether it’s in response to a trade, an injury, or both. So maybe one of these young guys will surprise everyone and become a capable starter the Titans can build their secondary around. They are at least getting the chance to do so, and in the NFL, chances like that are hard to come by.