Projecting three future Hall of Famers for the Tennessee Titans

The Pro Football Hall of Fame's class of 2023 will officially be inducted on Aug. 3.

With less than a month until the annual event in Canton, Ohio, we're examining which players — past and present — on the league's 32 teams we think will one day receive a similar honor.

Here are three Tennessee Titans who should eventually receive football immortality:

Derrick Henry

There was a four-year period from 2019-22 where Henry was the unquestioned No. 1 running back in the NFL. He came within 79 yards of breaking the NFL’s single-season rushing record in 2020 and he became just the third player since 2000 to lead the league in rushing in consecutive years (2019, 2020.)

Henry owns several NFL records including most rushing yards in first four playoff games (561) and most career games with 200 or more rushing yards (six), and he’s the only player to rush for 180 or more yards in three straight games. 

His name is also on most of the Titans rushing records including most rushing touchdowns (90), most 100-yard games (41), most single-season rushing yards (2,027) and most rushing yards in a single game (250.) Few would argue he has a Hall of Fame resume, and after signing two-year deal with the Ravens, he’s still got time to pad his stats.

Derrick Mason

Looking at Mason’s career, which includes eight 1,000-yard seasons, five seasons with 80 or more catches and 66 total touchdowns, it’s hard to justify him only having one All-Pro selection and two Pro Bowls. His 943 receptions ranks 19th all-time (more than HOFers Art Monk, Steve Largent and Michael Irvin) and his 12,061 receiving yards ranks 29th (more than Irvin, Calvin Johnson and Lance Alworth.)

Mason closed out his Titans career with four straight seasons of 73 or more catches and 1,000 or more yards before going onto three 1,000-yard seasons in six years with the Ravens. He set what was then an NFL record for all-purpose yards in a season in 2000, and he’s the only player in NFL history with both 10,000 receiving yards and 5,000 return yards in a career.

Jeffery Simmons

This one is more of a projection, but Simmons is certainly on a HOF path. At age 26, he already has two All-Pro selections and two Pro Bowls, and he’s already considered to be a top-five defensive tackle in the NFL.

Simmons has averaged 52.5 pressures, 37.8 hurries and six sacks per season over the last four years, and he seems to be on the cusp of his first season with double-digit sacks. The anchor of the Titans’ defensive line, Simmons ranks right outside the top 15 in sacks all-time among Titans. 

If he has even just average seasons for the next decade, he could easily crack Tennessee’s top five in career sacks, pressures and tackles for loss.