NFL: Can the Tennessee Titans become the first of 12 teams to end its Super Bowl drought?
As of 2021, the Tennessee Titans are one of 12 unfortunate NFL franchises that have never won a Super Bowl.
The Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals are the teams yet to taste Super Bowl glory in the NFC.
Along with the Titans in the AFC, the Los Angeles Chargers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans, Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals, and Buffalo Bills have yet to get their hands on a Lombardi trophy.
The Titans have rostered some great players on both sides of the football; the team is led by a fantastic and inventive coach in Mike Vrabel. For my money, Tennessee boasts some of the best supporters in the NFL to boot.
But do the Titans have what it takes to make it back to the Super Bowl in the next few years?
Will the Tennessee Titans be the first team to end its Super Bowl drought?
It's impossible to discount a team that just won the AFC South from a Super Bowl conversation, particularly when that team features the indomitable Derrick Henry at RB. 'The Little Tractor' has racked up over 3,500 rushing-yards over the last two seasons and chipped in with 31 TDs. If King Henry can keep going at this pace, not only does he have the superstar power required to take the Titans to the Super Bowl, but he could be in with an outside chance of breaking Emmitt Smith's long-standing, seemingly unbreakable record for career-yards, which stands at 18,355-yards.
It's not just the RB position that the Titans look strong in. Titans QB Ryan Tannehill is the most underrated signal-caller in the league, often a forgotten man in Derrick Henry's offense. But Tannehill is tier-one QB in the NFL, ranked in the top 8 for the past two seasons. The Texas A&M product threw up 33 TD passes and just 7 interceptions in 2020 and had a QB rating of 78.3 (4th best in the NFL).
Tannehill can get it done, make no mistake about it. Having A.J. Brown on the flanks won't help going forward either. But the Titans may need to add a different option at WR2: Corey Davis hasn't quite lived up to the expectations that come with being the first-round, 5th overall pick in the 2017 draft and is seemingly headed for free agency. If so, a WR2 option is an absolute must for the Titans heading into 2021, especially if they hope to bring home the franchise's first Super Bowl W in the near future.
With Jonnu Smith set to move on during free agency, Tannehill could probably do with a better option to throw to in the TE position too.
Over on the defensive side of things, Jadaveon Clowney didn't help the Tennessee pass rush unit as expected last year and will likely be released during the offseason. It would be a surprise if the Titans did not attempt to address their lowly pass rush ranking (31st via PFF) during the trade window, free agency, and/or the NFL Draft.
Head coach Mike Vrabel knows he has to put more pressure on the opposition QB to help out his secondary a little and there is a host of quality talent in the market that would slot straight into Vrabel's defensive unit, jacking up the pass rush in the process: Bud Dupree (Steelers), Trey Hendrickson (Saints), and Leonard Floyd (Rams) spring to mind.
If they can improve the pass rush and add some more offensive weapons during the offseason, the Titans could easily go all the way to the NFL's flagship event, the Super Bowl.
...then again, weren't we all saying this same thing last year? Didn't the Titans need to do those exact two things last year to take the next step?
Failure to address key issues during the 2020 offseason is the reason the Titans are not our number one pick for the team most likely to win a Super Bowl for the first time over the course of the next few seasons.
The Titans are the second most likely team to go all the way, ranked behind just one team: the Buffalo Bills.