The Tennessee Titans are about to kick off their mandatory minicamp this week and are expected to have the entire team on the field with the combined goal of improving from their miserable 3-14 season in 2024.

Every season in the NFL, it seems as if some team turns the corner and almost instantly announces their presence on the national stage. In 19 of the past 22 seasons, at least one team has gone from worst to first in their division and Tennessee believes that can be them. 

After making some drastic changes during the offseason, the Titans enter the final stages of offseason team activities preparing to make a huge jump in 2025. While there is excitement around the facility, and among some national media outlets, many other analysts have a less favorable opinion of Tennessee and their chances of making the jump this season. 

Unlike Carmen Vitali of Fox Sports, ESPN analyst Aaron Schatz doesn’t have high hopes for the Titans in 2025 and gives them little chance to go from worst to first.

5. Tennessee Titans, AFC South

2024 record: 3-14

Odds of winning division: 8.9% (4th in division)

Odds of making playoffs: 14.8% (14th in AFC)

Again, I must repeat what I wrote about the Saints: You can’t expect rookie QBs to have good seasons. Yes, this is even true for first overall picks like Cameron Ward. After all, Chicago’s Williams finished 28th out of 32 qualifying quarterbacks in QBR last season.

Then again, Will Levis was dead last out of 32 qualifying quarterbacks in QBR last season. So, even a below-average season for Ward will likely be an improvement for Tennessee.

Like New Orleans, the Titans have bigger issues on the other side of the ball — their defense projects at 30th in DVOA. There’s a lot of hope around veteran cornerback L’Jarius Sneed bouncing back from injury or a big season from unheralded additions such as edge rusher Dre’Mont Jones. But the Titans really didn’t gain much defensive talent this offseason and haven’t drafted many contributors in recent years. They haven’t used a first-round pick on a defensive player since Jeffery Simmons in 2019.

Schatz does point out some valid areas of concern heading into the 2025 season. Between starting a rookie quarterback and a lack of splash signings on defense, Tennessee does have some questions that have to be answered. But this does discount the improvements and veteran leadership the team added in the offseason, as well as the Titans’ manageable schedule and week division.

The offensive line should be much improved with the additions of Dan Moore and Kevin Zeitler, which should give the offense a tremendous boost in 2025. If you watched the Titans in 2024, it should have been clear that poor line play had a role in their dismal QBR statistics.

Plus, on defense, Tennessee almost completely overhauled the majority of the unit and will look different this season. Of course, no one will know how these changes will play out until the regular season begins in September.

As the Titans sit here in June, they have everything in front of them to have a chance to take that next step. Head coach Brian Callahan changed some things up in year two and Tennessee should be better prepared than they were in 2024. They may not go from worst to first, but they should be much improved.Â