The Titans added a pair of pricy cornerbacks in free agency this spring. Former Saints cornerback Alontae Taylor and former Giants cornerback Cor’Dale Flott are going to be the starters on the outside for the Titans this fall. They make this group a lot better at the top than it was last season.

But what about the rest of the room?

The depth situation has perhaps gotten a little bit too lost in the shuffle. Anyone who’s watched football for any amount of time knows that you’re liable to have to dip into your third, fourth, fifth, and sometimes sixth cornerback throughout the course of a season. Injuries and streaky play can ravage this room, and the Titans bought top-end starters but haven’t solidified their depth.

Item number one on the to-do list is identify the starting nickel CB. Who will be the third man joining Taylor and Flott? Early returns seem to indicate that it’ll be 2025 sixth round pick Marcus Harris.

Marcus Harris already getting praise from new coaches

Harris got a little bit more in-game exposure last season than anyone probably hoped he would have. But now that that that nightmare of a season is over, it’s nice that he has the experience. Harris started in five games last fall, tallying 5 passes defended, 1 forced fumble, and 1 tackle for loss. He flashed real promise amidst the inconsistency you’d expect from a day three rookie playing in an extremely shaky backfield situation.

At 5-10 and 190 pounds, Harris as a prospect was somebody I was thinking would be a nickel-only in the NFL. His coaches last season seemed to think he had inside-out versatility though, and he played more on the boundary than I expected. Now that he’s heading into his second season with a new coaching staff, early indications are that he’ll be moving back inside where I’d argue he’s better set up for success.

Defensive Coordinator Gus Bradley spoke to the media on Saturday, and he didn’t shy away from what he’s seen from Harris already.

“He has been impressive,” Bradley admitted. “We say once you walk in the building, we’re evaluating you. All the way through to the end of the day. And so, you know, how he comes in, he’s very consistent, how he comes in the building, everything he does. Relentless note taker, wants to be good. I mean, watch his film. Everything, he kind of checks the steps. And then to go out in the field and see some of his movement, and he is a bigger body. I mean, he’s definitely caught our attention in that phase. So, I mean, that’s what we’re hoping he can develop into.”

The day before, head coach Robert Saleh spoke on the cornerback room as well. He agreed that the back end is a wide-open competition, but made sure to single out Harris as somebody to watch.

“The back end of the roster with regard to our corner position when you’re looking at the three, four, five spot. It is wide open. And it’s going to be exciting to see it all develop. There’s a couple of undrafted guys that we’re excited about and that doesn’t close the door to possibly bringing in a couple vets either. So we are excited about our starters. Don’t sleep on Marcus (Harris). I think he’s going to be a fun one to watch. But otherwise, you are right in terms of the depth of that back end needing to prove itself.”

If Harris takes a second year leap playing on the inside where he’s physiologically more set up for success, he could round out this team’s starting trio nicely. And if he works out as a real NFL starter, that’s a significant feather in the cap of Mike Borgonzi‘s first draft class.