SANTA CLARA, CA  — The Tennessee Titans released their first depth chart of the 2026 season. It comes loaded with competitive storylines worth tracking as the preseason gets underway this week in San Francisco against the 49ers.

The depth chart itself tells us plenty about where Tennessee’s roster stands right now.

Several positions remain unsettled. The right guard competition, wide receiver pecking order, tight end usage, and swing tackle situation all demand attention. General manager Mike Borgonzi has plenty of work ahead as he shapes the Titans initial 53-man roster.

Right guard is the most glaring competition on the roster

The most obvious starting job up for grabs belongs at right guard.

Free agent addition Cordell Volson is listed ahead of fifth-round pick Fernando Carmona Jr. out of Arkansas. Volson has starting experience (48 games) across his NFL career but hasn’t been a starting-caliber player. He’s functioned more in a reserve role.

I think Volson will be the starter when the season begins, but there’s a historical parallel here worth remembering. 

Back in 2019, the Titans drafted guard Nate Davis in the third round out of Charlotte. Tennessee opted to start Jamil Douglas for the first three or four games. Douglas got his butt whipped in a Week 3 Thursday Night Football game at Jacksonville, a loss fueled in part by the pressure on Marcus Mariota. The following week in Atlanta, Grady Jarrett ran roughshod on Douglas before the team finally ripped the band-aid off and inserted Davis.

A similar trajectory could play out with Volson and Carmona Jr., but for now, the right guard spot doesn’t even feel that up for grabs.

Tennessee Titans wide receiver depth carries real intrigue behind the starters

Calvin Ridley, Wan’Dale Robinson, and Carnell Tate are listed as the starting wide receivers.

Behind them, second-year players Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike are listed along with Bryce Oliver, who missed most of last season due to injury. K.J. Osborn, Courtney Jackson, Xavier Restrepo, and Mason Kinsey round out the competition for the remaining roster spots.

Ridley is coming off an injury-plagued season, and when he was available, he experienced several critical drops and never found a consistent page with quarterback Cam Ward. The offense suffered both from his absence and his inconsistencies.

Ayomanor, meanwhile, is having a strong camp. He’s been a consistent, available target. He’s tougher, bigger, faster, and more physical this year. He likes to block. One of his favorite collegiate plays, he told us last year on the radio show, was pancaking two guys on the same two-point conversion.

The question is whether camp production translates. Training camp tells us lies from time to time. Things that look like the real deal in August can evaporate once the regular season arrives and the coaching staff evaluates through a different lens. But Ayomanor is putting himself in position. Should Ridley struggle again, Ayomanor is there. That’s a great problem to have.

As far as the backup structure, Bryce Oliver or Chimere Dike are more likely Ridley’s backup than Ayomanor at this point. If Robinson were to miss time, Dike would slot in there. And Tate with Ayomanor as a reserve makes the most sense based on what the coaching staff is asking them to do. All three of Ayomanor, Dike, and Oliver have experience playing multiple positions but aren’t being asked to do much outside of their individual roles right now, which is by design.

Gunnar Helm over Daniel Bellinger is a telling decision on first depth chart

I was surprised to see Gunnar Helm listed as the starting tight end ahead of Daniel Bellinger.

Bellinger has more experience with offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and the portion of the coaching staff coming over from the New York Giants. But Helm is the more dynamic player.

The question is how Daboll incorporates that dynamic element. Tight end volume has not typically been a feature of a Daboll offense. That doesn’t mean he can’t evolve given how different his personnel is in Tennessee compared to what he had in New York or Buffalo years ago. Whether the Gunnar Helm hype, both fantasy and otherwise, proves to be real at the tight end spot is something worth watching closely.

The swing tackle situation is concerning

Austin Deculus is listed as left tackle Dan Moore Jr.’s backup, and that doesn’t make anyone feel good. 

Deculus was Pro Football Focus’s worst-graded tackle a year ago, and he has not acquitted himself well in training camp. Brandon Crenshaw-Dixon is listed as the backup right tackle and would serve as the swing tackle. The fourth tackle spot is one we’re going to be talking about throughout the preseason until the Titans determine the final 53.

Tennessee heads to San Francisco with plenty of questions to answer before those decisions arrive.