Defensive Line Needs to Carry Titans

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The Tennessee Titans are going into the season with no place to go but up.
There's a lot up in the air about the Titans, but they can rely on their defensive line to be successful in the upcoming season.
Bleacher Report writer Alex Ballentine listed the interior defensive line as the Titans' biggest strength at the start of training camp.
"We're going to have get pretty specific with the Titans' greatest strength. The roster is still a work in progress and it's hard to pin down an aspect of it that they'll be able to rely on like their interior defensive line," Ballentine wrote.
"Jeffery Simmons was PFF's eight-highest-graded defensive lineman last season. T'Vondre Sweat already looks like a good running mate for him after just one season. He generated 21 pressures, which isn't bad for a 6'4", 366-pound nose tackle. Sebastian Joseph-Day is an underrated veteran to round out the starting trio."
Simmons, Sweat and Joseph-Day are the strongest part of Tennessee's defense and Dennard Wilson is counting on them to generate a lot of pressure for the unit as a whole.
Simmons might be the best individual player on the Titans as he continues to set a high bar for himself year in and year out. The first-round pick from the 2019 NFL Draft is entering his seventh season with the Titans and it's possible that his best has yet to come.
As for Sweat, the Titans selected him in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft hoping he would emerge into a strong sidekick for Simmons. In his first season, he showed flashes of potential, but there's room for even more growth in the upcoming year.
When it comes to Joseph-Day, he's another veteran piece that can help the Titans get some order on the defensive line, which could help in the long run.

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several On SI sites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid and resides in Central Florida. He graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener.