In 2024, the Tennessee Titans were a true “Stars & Scrubs” roster build. Some teams, like the recent Super Bowl champion Rams, build that way on purpose. They push all their chips in for a ring, and like in the Rams case, it works. Other times, such as the ‘24 Titans, it’s much less intentional.

For Tennessee last year, they built significantly through free agency. They felt forced too, with very little rookie contract juice on the roster thanks to a string of bad draft classes. Good teams have a couple rookie contract come up each year that potentially need renewing. For the Titans, that well had run dry. So they signed a bunch of expensive mercenaries, and their coffers of quality depth/developmental talent remained barren.

We knew going in that their only chance of success was for their starters to remain healthy. Unfortunately, many of them didn’t play enough, and those that did simply didn’t click in a winning way.

Heading into 2025, Tennessee’s trajectory on this front is clearly pointing upwards. While no team can build a deep roster in a single offseason, this new front office has done well with another promising draft class and some savvy, value free agent additions.

The determining factor in whether they’re a more shaky “Stars & Scrubs” build or a burgeoning young roster of depth comes down to a handful of key wildcards. These are the players on the team with massive potential to impact this season, but have at least one significant question mark about whether they’ll reach that potential. Each of these players is new to the Titans lineup in some way, and their performances may make or break the season.

Oh, and we’re keeping Cam Ward off this list. Yes, duh, the rookie starting QB will impact the season more than anybody else on the roster. Not much to debate on that one. With that out of the way, here are the 6 biggest wildcards of the 2025 season:

6. WR Elic Ayomanor

I’m going to do a lot of talking about ceiling and floor outcomes for different units on this list. Because that’s really what this is all about: which individual players have the most leverage in whether their group is a strength or weakness of the team? For rookie WR Elic Ayomanor, he represents the best chance of anybody in this receiver room to make Cam Ward’s passing options a diverse, league-average group in Year 1.

Right now, the Titans receiver room is basically Calvin Ridley and the super kids. Tyler Lockett and Van Jefferson represent veteran floors, but the more you’re relying on them this year, the more uninspiring this group will be. Tennessee needs at least one of Ayomanor, Dike, Restrepo, or Bryce Oliver to take a big leap, and Ayomanor’s profile points to him being the most likely to breakout. He’s the only guy on the roster with a true X receiver skillset, and he can impact all three levels of the field. Based on my draft evaluation of him, I don’t see why he can’t carve out a starting role for himself this year.

5. EDGE Femi Oladejo

I absolutely hate that rookie EDGE Femi Oladejo is at number 5 on this list. He shouldn’t be. His profile coming out of college isn’t that of a guy with instant-impact expectations. But once he landed with the Titans, those expectations were thrust upon him out of necessity.

The reality is, the Titans have Arden Key and FA addition Dre’Mont Jones to rely on in that room besides Oladejo. That’s it. Unless one of the depth guys makes a dramatic and unforeseen jump this summer (which would be a Godsend), they’re going to need him at least in a rotational role. And ideally, he emerges as a starter and allows Arden Key to be the rotational 3rd, which historically maximizes his production. But with only 10 games at his natural position under his belt, it’s hard to see him coming roaring out of the gates terrorizing quarterbacks. If he can begin to do so consistently at any point this year, it will be a huge impact on the EDGE room.

4. LT Dan Moore Jr.

My first instinct was to put the entire offensive line on this list, but that goes against the spirit of the exercise. So who is the biggest question mark at the highest position of leverage? New Left Tackle Dan Moore Jr.

Moore was courted by a handful of tackle-needy teams in free agency. Tennessee made their sole exception to their self-imposed free agency rules to overpay to get him, because they believe he still has room to grow into a franchise LT. It also doesn't hurt that they know protecting their first overall pick QB is just about the most important job they now have. Check out my interview with the phenomenally knowledgeable Brandon Thorn of Trench Warfare for more on Moore, and how tackle play is more of a floor position in the NFL than a ceiling one.

The Titans desperately need Moore to reach the minimum floor for serviceable tackle play out of the box this year. This entire OL has no excuses on paper, not to mention the fact that they're being coached by someone with a legendary reputation. This has to work for Cam Ward to work.

3. S Kevin Winston Jr.

When the Titans began the 2024 season, the defense was shockingly stout. It was a serious strength of the team (the only strength, at times). Then in the back-half of the year, it fell apart entirely. As I've talked and written about many times, that disintegration can be directly traced back to the loss of LB Ernest Jones (traded) and S Quandre Diggs (injured) in Weeks 8 and 9. Those two were Dennard Wilson's "fixers" up the spine of the defense. They made the team right a lot on tape. And once they were gone, nobody was able to fill those shoes. It resulted in some flat-out disasters.

In 2025, the Titans have to find guys who can do at least close to what those two did. It's the straw that stirs the drink on this side of the ball. And that's why rookie Kevin Winston Jr. is number 3 on this list. Amani Hooker is a very good and often underrated player, but he's not at his best when he has to play a reactionary, babysitter style on the back end. When he had someone like Kevin Byard or Quandre Diggs alongside him to allow him to read, react, and explode to the ball, he's one of the best safeties in the entire league. I'm hoping FA addition Xavier Woods can be that, but I'm not positive he's the solution (especially long-term). I think Winston's tremendous upside, assuming his return to health continues to be smooth, makes him a big wildcard for this team.

2. LB Cody Barton

Continuing along the lines of our rationale for number 3, FA addition Cody Barton is at number 2 on this list. Alongside Barton, there's a mess of a competition. Cedric Gray, James Williams, Otis Reese, David Gbenda and others are all fighting to emerge as the Titans next starting solution at linebacker. But until one of them takes a leap, Barton is the only sure thing. He was brought in to be the tentpole of this position, and to carry the mental load.

He's shown in previous stops that he's capable of doing just that, and it's why the Titans gave him a three year deal. Click here for more on Barton's early impression with the team. Bottom line, the Titans need him to be what he was for the Broncos last year if this defense is going to return to glory.

1. CB L’Jarius Sneed

At number 1 is the only player entering his 2nd season with the Titans on this list: L'Jarius Sneed. Sneed only played three healthy games in 2024 before suffering a flukey, very serious quad injury that ended his season. He's still rehabbing that leg, along with the chronic knee issue he's always had to manage and rehab. Needless to say, people are tight over what he's going to be this year.

The Titans sent a 3rd round pick to the Chiefs last season for the privilege of handing Sneed a massive multiyear contract. He's being paid to be a lockdown CB1. And last year, he wasn't exactly playing like one before he wasn't able to play at all. The return on investment here is teetering on disastrous.

But cornerback is a really finicky position. There's probably no other position where we see as much variance one year to the next. It's really hard, and just a handful of lost reps can define your season. So I'm not writing Sneed off only a year removed from everybody completely understanding him being worth the contract he was given. And neither are the Titans.

Behind the starters at corner (Sneed, Brownlee, McCreary) are a laundry list of depth names: Marcus Harris, Darrell Baker Jr, Amani Oruwariye, Gabe Jeudy-Lally, Jermari Harris, Clarence Lewis, Jalen Kimber, and Davion Ross. Not ringing many bells? That's because it's a crowded competition of a lot of undrafted youth and no-name veterans. Now, that's not to say none of these guys can make a name for themselves in Tennessee this summer. The Titans are banking on it. Because if Sneed can't be what they brought him in to be this year, the depth of this room may get very scary in a hurry.

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