ESPN insider points to Tennessee Titans as potential fit for two intriguing free agents
With a new head coach and a ton of money to spend, the Tennessee Titans are wide open heading into the 2024 offseason. Free agency obviously comes first and there should be plenty of options to choose from. The team has plenty of needs, with offensive line being top priority, and fortunately this season features a […]
With a new head coach and a ton of money to spend, the Tennessee Titans are wide open heading into the 2024 offseason.
Free agency obviously comes first and there should be plenty of options to choose from. The team has plenty of needs, with offensive line being top priority, and fortunately this season features a much better infrastructure to create change, so to speak, than previous ones.
It's wild to think we are just a little more than a week away from the start of free agency as the NFL Combine wraps up. And although the Combine helps us sharpen up our draft knowledge and whatnot, it's also a good source for news updates.
Recently, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano released a column detailing the latest buzz coming out of Indy and the Titans were specifically described as a team to watch when it comes to impending free agents Darnell Mooney and C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
The Chicago wideout is much better than his 2023 stat line of 31 catches for 414 yards and 5 TDs suggests. The Chiefs or Titans could be players here… [and]… a C.J. Gardner-Johnson reunion in Philadelphia is on my radar. The Eagles realized they missed the talented safety in the secondary. Tennessee makes sense for him, too. Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson is a big fan of Gardner-Johnson from their Philly days. – Jeremy Fowler, ESPN
Both players ultimately make sense in the grand scheme of things
Neither player is going to be overly expensive, either. We project Mooney's deal to average around $8 million per year and CGJ's deal to be $5.5 million per year. Both players should come in on short deals, as well, eschewing any long-term commitments on the Titans' side.
Regardless, Mooney would be a great deep threat to help take the top off the defense so DeAndre Hopkins can work the intermediate underneath areas. He can also play both inside and out, giving Will Levis and the Titans offense a target that can move around alignments/formations and help create mismatches.
Gardner-Johnson is also a versatile player in his own right. Fowler mentions his year in Philly when Titans defensive coordinator, Dennard Wilson, was the Eagles defensive backs coach/defensive passing game coordinator, because CGJ led the NFL with six interceptions that year. But he's not just a ballhawk – he's an extremely physical player that sets the tone with both his play style and his choice(s) of words. He's definitely the epitome of "you love him if he's on your team, but can't stand him if he's not".
That kind of swagger can really invigorate a locker room and establish a winning mentality, if cultivated properly.
Outside Roger McCreary and Amani Hooker, the Titans secondary is as wide-open as ever when it comes to starting personnel. Wilson knows exactly how to use Gardner-Johnson and would find ways to both maximize his usage will covering up as many holes/deficiencies as possible.
Neither player will come in and immediately make the Titans contenders and that's fine. Tennessee needs guys who are willing to come in and work in order to not only turn things around, but instill a winning culture based off doing the right things. CGJ is coming from a strong franchise in Detroit and a 2022 Eagles team that did things the right way and Mooney is coming from years of losing, so he'll be hungry to change that, too.
Both make sense, all-around. We'll see what happens over the next couple weeks.
