PFF Issues Plaudits to a Quartet of Tennessee Titans

PFF Issues Plaudits to a Quartet of Tennessee Titans

EDGE Arden Key

Key receives a lot of flak for not delivering on his megabucks contract, but he is sneakily underrated due to the metrics. The Titans’ star EDGE is still a valuable player to have despite not having the most gaudy sack totals. He needs a buddy on the other side to assist him. PFF gave some plaudits about the Titans’ pass rusher.

Key has bounced around the league a bit in his NFL career, playing for his fourth team in seven years now as a member of the Titans for the past two seasons. He has gone from being more of a role player on previous teams to that of a workhorse edge for Tennessee, playing more than 700 defensive snaps and landing six and 6.5 sacks, respectively, in each season with the team.

Over the past four seasons, Key has earned a 77.2 PFF pass-rush grade, which ranks 38th among 169 qualifying edge defenders since 2021.

Key needs to step up into a bigger role than he has previously held due to the precarious depth at EDGE. Can he be relied upon to register numbers that he hasn’t seen in his career?

IDL T’Vondre Sweat

While the second-year lineman just missed the cutoff for the 25 players under 25 list, he made it onto the list for honorable mention. Here’s what PFF wrote about the LWOS All-Rookie first team interior defender.

“Tennessee’s 362-pound interior defender made an immediate impact as a rookie in 2024. Sweat earned a 76.1 overall PFF grade, ranking 14th among 118 qualifying interior defenders, while forming one of the league’s top interior trios alongside Jeffery Simmons and Sebastian Joseph-Day. The Texas product stood out even more against the run, posting a 75.0 run-defense grade, eighth best at the position.

Sweat also earned a negative grade on just 11.5% of run plays, the eighth-lowest rate among all interior defenders, showcasing his consistency and reliability in the trenches.”

The selection proved astute as he impacted the few defensive playmakers around by occupying blockers’ attention. Sweat gained notoriety as a run defender but was a weekly staple of Brian Baldinger’s highlight tweets during the season. One of his many impactful plays included a terrific fumble return that surely caused heart palpitations for LWOS Editor/Writer and Bengals fan Drew Crabtree. Much will be expected of the young man from Texas in his second season. He’ll do so with a revamped defensive line around him, with the loss of Harold Landry and relying on more rookies to mind the gaps. What will his sophomore season look like in Nashville?

QB Cam Ward

The first overall selection garnered some plaudits from the folks at PFF in a couple of articles over the past several weeks. While Coach Brian Callahan emphasizes that Ward hasn’t yet earned the starting job, it is inevitable. Pro Football Focus ranked him in the bottom half of projected starters, writing this about the passer.

One of two rookie quarterbacks projected to start in Week 1, Ward will need plenty to fall into place as the Titans work through a still-flawed roster. He delivered 31 big-time throws in 2024 and finished as the second-highest-graded passer among drafted quarterbacks. At minimum, he should offer an upgrade over Will Levis.

They ranked him 25th behind more proven young talents like Bryce Young, Caleb Williams, and Bo Nix. It is expected for a rookie to be ranked this low given the lack of NFL tape. Ward will have to prove it on the field and deliver on the hype. In another piece, PFF gave the Tennessee Titans’ rookie plenty of plaudits.

Key Metric: 92.9 PFF grade in 2024 (Led FBS)

“The math is simple in Tennessee. Led by Will Levis and Mason Rudolph, the Titans ranked dead last in the NFL in passing grade in 2024. Their new quarterback, Cam Ward, led the FBS last season with a 92.9 PFF grade. Where Ward arguably made his biggest improvement in 2024 was against the blitz. His 86.0 passing grade when blitzed was the sixth-best mark in the country, while his 17 passing touchdowns in such scenarios were the second-most.”

Ward was the top-ranked quarterback prospect in college football last season by PFF metrics, and his draft slot reflected that. Given the uncertainty of the Titans’ offensive line revamp, it’s good that he was so efficient against the blitz.

OL Kevin Zeitler

Another Tennessee Titan acquisition earned plaudits as one of the top players over the age of 30. The veteran lineman signed a one-year deal to solidify Tennessee’s offensive line further. What plaudits did PFF give to the offensive lineman?

“Zeitler’s lone season in Detroit was among the best of his career. He set a personal best with an 87.2 run-blocking grade and recorded an 86.5 overall grade, second only to his 2014 campaign in Cincinnati. Both marks ranked among the top three guards in the league last season, giving Tennessee reason for optimism in 2025.”

The Titans are banking on significant contributions from Zeitler at right guard next to young JC Latham. It will be interesting to monitor the line’s progress as they continue to gel together.