Super Bowl LXI Road Map: Don’t Rule Out the Titans Winning the AFC South

Picking Tennessee to win the division is ambitious, but there is going to be room for a surprise team or two in the wide-open AFC.

Titans quarterback Cam Ward has more skill-position talent going into his second season. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

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Welcome to Super Bowl LXI road maps, where we look at every team’s chances of winning it all in 2026. We’ll analyze the summer optimism before providing a reality check of what’s to come. Next path to assess: the Titans.

What do you do when you’ve won six total games over the past three seasons? Spend money.

The Titans opened their wallet this offseason to the tune of $238 million combined for defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers, slot receiver Wan’Dale Robinson, and corners Alontae Taylor and CorDale Flott. The upgrades should be felt immediately alongside the hires of coach Robert Saleh and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, who both bring a wealth of experience to their current roles. 

For Tennessee, this season is about the continued development of second-year quarterback Cam Ward, while moving the franchise forward in the right direction. Ward, last year’s No. 1 pick, showcased ability but also struggled to a league-worst minus-143.2 EPA while throwing for 3,169 yards and 15 touchdowns against seven interceptions. 

If Ward improves, so will Tennessee. The question is how much and how fast, and whether the money spent will pay immediate dividends.

Leadership

Saleh, 47, takes over his second team after spending four years in the top seat with the Jets from 2021 to ’24. He was also the 49ers’ defensive coordinator last season.

Saleh has a real chance to succeed this time. After cycling through one bad quarterback after another in New York, Saleh is getting a talented, raw quarterback in Ward. While Ward needs to be better, he’s also being given a true opportunity this year with the aforementioned addition of Robinson, alongside top-five pick Carnell Tate on the perimeter. 

However, much of Ward’s success will be tied to his partnership with Daboll, who comes to Tennessee after leading the Giants to a 20-40-1 record over the past four seasons (he was fired after Week 10). That said, Daboll worked wonders with Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who became an All-Pro and MVP candidate under his tutelage. 

Defensively, Saleh is working with a slew of new talent, including Franklin-Myers, Taylor, Flott and first-round defensive end Keldric Faulk. If he can improve the unit from its 21st-place ranking a year ago (28th in points), doubling the win total isn’t an impossible task.

Most influential roster move

Although any of the myriad signings would fit here, let’s focus on Tate.

At Ohio State, Tate was a second-team All-American and first-team All-Big Ten receiver last season, catching 51 passes for 875 yards and nine touchdowns. The year before, he amassed 733 yards and four scores for the national champs, helping him become the top wideout in this past draft. 

At 6'2" and 192 pounds, Tate has the size to win contested catches while also showing a polished route tree on his collegiate film. Although his 4.53 40-yard dash doesn’t stand out, his fluidity and short-area quickness are terrific, helping him get open consistently. 

With Calvin Ridley as the other boundary receiver, expect Tate to get plenty of looks from Ward as the duo looks to become a fixture for the Titans in the years ahead.

Why this offseason move will work

Adding one quality corner is immensely helpful, allowing the rest of the secondary to roll toward the other side, while giving the pass rush time to get home. The Titans added two, giving Saleh all sorts of options within his calls. 

Taylor and Flott were sizable investments, with each receiving a three-year deal valued at $105 million. However, the decision to bring both in was informed, as Flott played four years with the Giants under Daboll, and Taylor spent last season with Saints defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, who, like Saleh, has also coached under Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco.

Last season, the Titans ranked 30th in net yards per attempt (7.0) and yards per completion (11.9) against while checking in 28th in expected points contributed (minus-137.99), only better than the Cardinals, Commanders, Jets and Cowboys.

The Titans' Peter Skoronski has shown the ability to become the NFL's next $90 million guard. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Breakout player candidate: Peter Skoronski, G

Skoronski was one of the best interior linemen last season, but it primarily went unnoticed because the Titans were a last-place 3–14 outfit. If Tennessee improves in 2026, so will Skoronski’s national standing as he angles for a new deal.

In his third year, Skoronski posted a 79.0 PFF grade, fifth among all guards. He also played 100% of the team’s snaps for the second consecutive season and cut his penalties in half from six to three. In Jeremy Fowler’s annual positional rankings on ESPN, Skoronski was voted ninth among all players by front-office personnel and was voted as the top player by at least one person.

Entering a contract year, Skoronski has the ability to become the next $90 million guard, joining Chris Lindstrom, Robert Hunt, Tyler Smith and Trey Smith.

Missing piece

While Skoronski is fantastic, the rest of the interior is not. 

The Titans added a couple of pieces in the offseason, with center Austin Schlottmann and Cordell Volson coming over in free agency from the Giants and Bengals, respectively, but neither is likely a long-term fixture. 

Schlottmann has made 18 starts over a seven-year career, but he makes sense as a communicator after spending the past two years with Daboll in New York. Although his talents are limited, he’ll help get the line calls and audibles correct as Ward assimilates into the system.

As for Volson, he’s a veteran with 48 starts to his credit, all in Cincinnati. On a one-year deal with only $2.5 million guaranteed, he will likely hold the spot for 2026 before an upgrade can be found, perhaps in current rookie fifth-round pick Fernando Carmona out of Arkansas.

Realistic outlook

Winning the AFC South is going to be an uphill battle, but don’t rule it out. 

Tennessee has a lot of the earmarks we saw from the Texans in 2023, when they went from a four-win team to division champs behind a young, ascending quarterback (C.J. Stroud), a terrific top wideout (Nico Collins), a new coach (DeMeco Ryans) and a dominant defense.

Yes, picking Tennessee to win the division and host a playoff game for the first time since the 2020 season would be ambitious, but there is going to be room for a surprise team or two in the wide-open AFC. Don’t be surprised if the Titans, spearheaded by the onslaught of moves from general manager Mike Borgonzi, are one of them.

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