The 2026 player acquisition cycle is officially over!

At least, it’s mostly over. There’s always a trickle of veteran signings that run through to the end of training camp. But for the most part, the starters and primary rotational players on this Titans team are already here. So let’s take a step back to inspect Mike Borgonzi’s work.

I asked my followers on Twitter how they wanted me to do this, and more than half of them agreed: let’s look at how each position group has changed from the beginning of last season to today.

For a Titans position group rankings based on how much they improved on paper this offseason, which way of looking at it is more interesting?

Comparing today’s roster to…

— Easton Freeze (@eastonfreeze) May 6, 2026

Keep an eye out for the offensive version of this exercise on AtoZSports.com soon. But here, let’s rank which defensive rooms have upgraded the most on paper.

1. Cornerback

September 2025: L’Jarius Sneed, Roger McCreary, Jarvis Brownlee Jr, Darrell Baker Jr, Marcus Harris, Jalyn Armour-Davis

May 2026: Alontae Taylor, Cor’Dale Flott, Marcus Harris, Josh Williams, Micah Robinson, Erick Hallett

I’m putting cornerback 1st in this ranking and I’m cheating just a little bit. The initial trio for 2025 lasted for what felt like 7 seconds. Sneed’s body failed him again, Brownlee was traded in the first month, and McCreary was moved before the trade deadline too. So I’m partially considering them, but also partially considering who played most of the season.

For the majority of the year, this team’s coverage ability was prohibitively bad. Expectations sank to basically zero. Borgonzi went out and spent big in free agency to change that. Taylor and Flott on the outside are expensive, but should be very solid. Harris in the slot should be where he is at his best. The only remaining concern is depth… which they still need badly.

2. Edge

September 2025: Dre’Mont Jones, Arden Key, Femi Oladejo, Jihad Ward, Jaylen Harrell

May 2026: Jermaine Johnson, Femi Oladejo, Keldric Faulk, Jacob Martin, Jaylen Harrell

With both EDGE and DL, the distinction between the rooms is a little blurry. A handful of these guys bump inside and out depending on the situation, I know. So don’t get bent out of shape with how I classified them on these lists.

Dre’Mont Jones was the only EDGE last season with any consistent juice. This year’s group has the upside to bring a lot more to the table. Johnson is a year removed from his big injury, Oladejo is back healthy in year 2, and rookie Keldric Faulk rounds out a group that should be much more serviceable at the very least.

3. Defensive Line

September 2025: Jeffery Simmons, T’Vondre Sweat, Sebastian Joseph-Day, James Lynch, Shy Tuttle, CJ Ravenell

May 2026: Jeffery Simmons, John Franklin-Myers, Jordan Elliott, Solomon Thomas, Jackie Marshall, CJ Ravenell

Jeffery Simmons is a gravitational player you have to build around. The Titans have done exactly that in 2026. Robert Saleh’s approach on the DL seems to basically be just reuniting the best versions of his prior fronts, which isn’t a bad approach! Those groups have been very strong.

The 2025 interior DL was sneaky solid, but I think the ceiling for this year’s group is even higher.

4. Linebacker

September 2025: Cody Barton, Cedric Gray, James Williams, Dorian Mausi

May 2026: Cedric Gray, Cody Barton, Anthony Hill,Mohamoud Diabate, James Williams, Dorian Mausi

The change in how linebackers will play in this Titans defense in 2026 is more interesting to me than the change in actual personnel. Drafting Anthony Hill at 60th overall is exactly what I thought the Titans would do for Robert Saleh, who has a history of maximizing players taken in this range with athletic traits and upside. But I do wonder how quickly he will be involved in this year starting defense.

I think everyone is a little bit lower on Cody Barton right now than they probably should be, especially with his institutional knowledge of the position that Robert Saleh is going to want from his mike linebacker. all in all, I think the linebacker room has been modestly upgraded in the near term.

5. Safety

September 2025: Amani Hooker, Xavier Woods, Kevin Winston Jr, Quandre Diggs, Mike Brown

May 2026: Amani Hooker, Kevin Winston Jr, Tony Adams, Kendell Brooks, Sanoussi Kane

I continue to wonder why we aren’t talking about the Titans’ safety room more than we are. I’m as excited as anybody about Winston Jr’s second year, and Amani Hooker should be able to play in position more frequently this season, allowing him to play at a more consistent level.

But after those two, are we comfortable with the rotational ability of this group? Is anybody comfortable with the depth that would be leaned upon if either of these starters gets hurt? I know that I’m not. On paper, this room is a downgrade right now based purely on Borgonzi not adding any depth to the room. I’d be shocked if there isn’t another veteran safety or two on this roster by the end of August.