It’s almost time. We’re officially one week away from the Tennessee Titans reporting for training camp, signaling the start of the grind of the season. Training camp leads directly into the preseason, where coaches are doing their final evaluations before the 53-man roster cuts on August 26.

We began training camp previews with the offensive and defensive lines, and today’s preview will cover the outside linebackers.

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Here’s a quick rundown of who and what to expect this summer.

Coaching staff

Dennard Wilson (defensive coordinator), Frank Bush (linebackers coach), Ben Bloom (outside linebackers coach)

Wilson, Bush, and Bloom are all in their second season with the Titans. It’s Wilson’s and Bloom’s first stint with the team, but Bush is on his third stint, so he knows the organization well. One of their main goals in 2025 is to improve the team’s run defense. The run game struggled in 2024, but Mike Borgonzi brought in some veteran talent that should provide these coaches with what they need in 2025.

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Alignment

The Titans employ a 3-4 base defense. However, there are signs that they may play multiple fronts in 2025 after changing the size of the players they deploy on the edge. Free agent acquisitions Dre’Mont Jones and Lorenzo Carter, as well as second-round pick Femi Oladejo, are bigger and more physical players than they were in 2024.

Weak-side Linebackers

Dre’Mont Jones, Jaylen Harrell, Lorenzo Carter, Titus Leo

Adding veterans like Jones and Carter will be huge for Harrell, who can learn from them both and improve on what he started in Tennessee last season. His rookie campaign saw him appear in all 17 games, but he recorded just 13 tackles on the season. He could benefit from mentorship from experienced players.

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Jones, Carter, and Leo are all in their first year with the Titans. Jones will likely get the nod to start the season, but he will have guys like Harrell and Oladejo hot on his heels. If Carter plays up to par in training camp, he will see some time this fall as well. Leo has the most work to do, the most to prove. Training camp will show us if he’s ready or not.

Strong-side Linebackers

Arden Key, Femi Oladejo, Ali Gaye, Desmond Evans

Key is the most experienced out of this group, entering his eighth season in the NFL. It will be his third season with the Titans, and he improved in 2024 over 2023 with the organization. He was an integral part of the Titans’ defensive success in 2024, but he will likely share time with rookie Oladejo and perhaps even Gaye, who signed as an undrafted free agent ahead of the 2024 season.

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Evans signed as an undrafted free agent this offseason, making him a rookie alongside Oladejo. The spot is Key’s at this point, but Oladejo isn’t going to sit around for long. He may not overtake the starting position from Key in 2025, but he’s going to give him a run for his money, and training camp is just the beginning.

Overall outlook

One of the Titans’ biggest goals this offseason was to improve its run defense. Mike Borgonzi addressed this problem by bringing in veteran players, as well as drafting some youngsters to develop for the future. On paper, this group looks improved over last year, and they have more depth at the position than in 2024. If Wilson and his staff can lock down the edge in 2025, it will go a long way toward winning more than three games.

This article originally appeared on Titans Wire: Tennessee Titans training camp preview: Outside linebackers