Top 3 X-Factor Players Who Will Decide Titans' Fate in 2023

The Tennessee Titans' fate in 2023 could rest on the performance of a few select players and whether those players live up to their expectations this year.

Depending on who you ask the Tennessee Titans could be a playoff team or get a top-five pick in next year's draft. With that sort of wide range of possibilities on the table, there will be certain "X-Factors" that determine which way the team goes.

Three of the biggest for the season happen to be players. These three will have a tremendous impact on how many wins the Titans can collect and what their ceiling will be as a team. Let's dive in.

Andre Dillard, Left Tackle

Dillard plays one of the most important positions in all of football. He also plays the same position as Dennis Daley, who was the worst starting left tackle in the NFL last year by numerous measures. If the Titans can flip that spot from the worst to decent, it would have huge ramifications.

Dillard may not have locked down a starter spot with the Eagles, the team that drafted him, but he has an uncontested chance to do that with the Titans now. If he is incapable, the Titans offensive line will not have improved enough and it could spell disaster.

If though, Dillard can be a starting-level left tackle for the Titans, even if not one of the best in the league, it would give the Titans some consistency at a spot they haven't seen since 2019 and could mean the offense could get back to that year's level as well.

Arden Key, Edge Rusher

Key has gotten so much hype during the Titans' training camp that he has to be on the list. Key has incredible talent, but it admittedly took him some time for things to click at the pro level. He was expected to be a starter early in his career, but didn't meet expectations then took a step back to being a rotation player in San Francisco in 2021 and then in Jacksonville in 2022.

That step back allowed Key to take major steps forward. He has been productive his last two seasons as a rotational player and will now get a chance to be a starter once again. If Key can take the leap his talent makes him capable of, the Titans could finally have a bonafide pass rusher to complete their front.

Harold Landry is a good rusher, but his versatility in the run game and in coverage is what makes him the player he is. Landry isn't one of the top pure rushers in the NFL, Key has the talent to be that and fit perfect with the versatile Landry.

If Key does explode this season and become what he is capable of it would take the Titans defense to a level it hasn't been at in recent years even with the success that side of the ball has had. Key can be what the Titans hoped Bud Dupree would be.

Treylon Burks, Wide Receiver

Burks seemed to escape a major injury just a few weeks ago during a joint practice with the Minnesota Vikings and also seems like he could be on track to play Week 1. The Titans will need him. Not only because of how thin the Titans are at receiver, but because of the weight of being a first-round receiver in the NFL.

In recent years it has become more common than ever for first-round receivers to make an instant impact and Burks need to do that for the Titans. Burks was acquired in the A.J. Brown trade and he may not be needed to play at that level, but the Titans need something of value in that swap.

With DeAndre Hopkins on one side taking the attention of defenses, Burks is ideally suited this year to take advantage. If Burks becomes the player people thought he could be in combination with Hopkins' hall-of-fame talent, the Titans would have one of the best duos in the NFL. That could mean things are possible team-wise that were not expected just a few months ago.

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