{"id":853918,"date":"2026-04-04T21:01:52","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T21:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/853918\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T21:01:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T21:01:52","slug":"the-titans-sneaky-position-of-need-nobody-is-talking-about-robert-salehs-latest-comments-prove-it-and-how-to-fix-it-in-the-nfl-draft-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/853918\/","title":{"rendered":"The Titans’ sneaky position of need nobody is talking about, Robert Saleh’s latest comments prove it, and how to fix it in the NFL draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Titans have plenty of positions to fill in the 2026 NFL draft, but there\u2019s one I\u2019m convinced nobody is giving enough attention. Here\u2019s why Robert Saleh\u2019s latest comments prove it, and how to draft the best fit for the job.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNov 2, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Titans linebacker Cedric Gray (33) takes the field against the Los Angeles Chargers during the first half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

True thumpers aren\u2019t as common amongst NFL linebackers as they used to be.<\/p>\n

But Cedric Gray is more of one than most. His ability to fill gaps and wreak havoc working downhill is impressive. He broke out in his second year and is the best linebacker on the Tennessee Titans\u2019 roster that Robert Saleh has inherited. But is he what Saleh needs? And what do we make of Cody Barton\u2019s fit in this system?<\/p>\n

Saleh sat down with us in Phoenix, Arizona this week at the NFL\u2019s annual Owners Meetings and shared some eye-opening insight on what he needs from the linebackers in his defense. It\u2019s left me with a simple conclusion: the Titans probably need linebacker help more than most of us realize.<\/p>\n

Robert Saleh\u2019s biggest misconception about the linebackers in his defense<\/p>\n

During free agency, there was a lot of chatter about the Titans being in the market for an upgrade at linebacker. I was somebody pushing the idea that they wanted an upgrade here. There were even some whispers about them poking around the trade market. Ultimately, they came away empty handed. But I haven\u2019t been given any reason to think that their alleged interest wasn\u2019t real. Keep reading, and I think you\u2019ll see why it made sense then and still makes sense now.<\/p>\n

Here is what Robert Saleh had to say about how LB Cody Barton fits into his defense, since he is the player highlighted as likely to be bumped down to a rotational role if the right addition is made.<\/p>\n

\u201cCody\u2019s played in our system, so he\u2019s gonna know exactly how to play it,\u201d Saleh began. \u201cAs long as he can get to the outside of the numbers, he will be all right, and Cody\u2019s very capable.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is your run-of-the-mill gladhanding from a coach about a current player of theirs. That isn\u2019t to say Barton is some bum, but I remain highly skeptical that he\u2019s the right fit to be a starter alongside Gray in this completely different scheme.<\/p>\n

That being said, Saleh did take this opportunity to point out what he sees as one of the biggest misconceptions about his defense:<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, one of the things that\u2026 I almost feel like it\u2019s easier for the linebacker, especially for the Mike (middle linebacker) in our system, because the range at which we ask them to cover isn\u2019t nearly as much as people think. You know, as we go through OTAs and training camp, he\u2019ll start to get a feel for what he needs to defend on a play-in and play-out basis, which will tighten up his drops and getting closer to where he needs to get to, which will increase his speed, if you will. So I think Cody, Cody\u2019s got great instincts. He\u2019s got great awareness, and he\u2019s proven that over time. So hopefully we can maximize who he was.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is where we start to get into the imperfect fit of it all. The Titans toyed around with Cedric Gray as the Mike and Cody Barton as the Will (weak side LB) last season, but ultimately needed Barton in that Mike communication role. So most of the season, we saw Gray as the Will and Barton as the Mike. Let\u2019s hear the rest from Saleh before digging into that further. Here was his response when asked to elaborate on his defense not requiring as much range from the linebackers as many seem to think it does:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do, and we don\u2019t (require range). like, for example, the Mike linebacker, he\u2019s hook to hook. He\u2019s monitoring the hash marks, basically. And there are times where he\u2019s got to expand a little bit, based on the scheme that we\u2019re getting. But our system always transfers stress from one position to the next, and we\u2019re always trying to move it\u2026 You know, back in the day, the linebackers, there\u2019s stress on them 60 plays a game from the Seattle system. Based on how we do things, we\u2019ll transfer stress to the linebackers, then to the safeties, then to the corners based on play call, just to keep the moving target away.\u201d<\/p>\n

My biggest takeaway from this is that Saleh is saying, no, I don\u2019t need superheroes at linebacker for my defense to work. His history of working with Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw in San Francisco, as well as CJ Mosley and Quincy Williams in New York, kind of betrays him here. Just because he has had great players doesn\u2019t mean he needs them, at least as I\u2019m interpreting this. But I think he does need the right kind of players.<\/p>\n

This is most emphasized by his description of the role of his Will LB:<\/p>\n

Will linebacker is a little more, I don\u2019t want to say versatile, in the sense that he\u2019s got more to do. In terms of\u2026we\u2019ll ask him to defend the flats. We\u2019ll ask him to defend the hooks. Yes, he\u2019s got more responsibility from a technical standpoint.\u201d<\/p>\n

So the Mike patrols hook-to-hook (hash-to-hash), and the Will covers even more ground form hook to the flat. How does that pertain to Cedric Gray and Cody Barton?<\/p>\n

Why Tennessee needs a different type of linebacker<\/p>\n

To understand this question of player fit, you have to understand how fundamentally different Saleh\u2019s San Fran defense is from the Baltimore system Dennard Wilson employs.<\/p>\n

Put extremely simply, I think it boils down to being asked to play north-south vs east-west. Look at some of the standout skillsets in this Baltimore system around the league. We\u2019re talking about Roquan Smith and Ernest Jones, as well as how well I think Cedric Gray does\/did start to fit into that system as he developed. Dennard asked more of his backers getting north and south than a lot of other defenses do.<\/p>\n

Saleh asks a lot more east to west. To his own point this week, it isn\u2019t as dramatic a lateral ask as many seem to think it is. And point taken! But a lateral skillset, especially for his Will, seems like a necessity.<\/p>\n

Who is that guy on this roster? I think Cedric Gray is a classic Mike LB archetype, and that\u2019s why the Titans toyed with it last year. I believe his skillset could work well at that spot in this Saleh defense. But is he an ideal fit as the Will again, now that the scheme has swapped? I think that\u2019s a tall ask and doesn\u2019t maximize him as a player.<\/p>\n

And the communication element could come into play again for all I know, not that the green dot has to be the Mike LB. If the chips all fall and the Titans are still looking at playing Grey and Barton, perhaps they try to fit this square peg into a round hole with them in their same roles from last year. But I just don\u2019t see that as being something they want to do.<\/p>\n

Believe it or not, the player that you could argue has the best physical ability to play this Will role might be James Williams, the converted safety from his days at Miami. Perhaps a Saleh development masterclass is on the table here, but that\u2019s also something I don\u2019t expect them to bank on. So long story short, the more I look into this setup, the more convinced I am that the Titans need another linebacker worse than just about everybody is thinking they do. And it leads me to believe drafting one with a valuable pick is more firmly on the table than most realize.<\/p>\n

Linebackers who fit what the Titans need in the 2026 NFL Draft<\/p>\n

So who could the Titans target in this draft to pair with Cedric Gray as a strong fit for Will LB in this system? A to Z draft analyst Ryan Roberts put together a list of targets ranging from Rounds 3-5:<\/p>\n

Kaleb Elarms-Orr | LB | TCU<\/p>\n

Consensus Big Board: 134th<\/p>\n

The former Cal transfer is one of the more underrated linebackers in this class and has an outside chance to go inside of the top-100. He has outstanding overall range and speed on the second level, particularly playing in pursuit. Elarms-Orr is an inconsistent processor and will need some time to get comfortable in an NFL defense. There is a bit of a developmental feel to his game but the long-term payback could be huge.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kyle Louis | LB | Pittsburgh\u00a0<\/p>\n

Consensus Big Board: 77th<\/p>\n

Louis is one of the more interesting linebackers in the 2026 class. He\u2019s an undersized second level defender who has spent the majority of his time as an overhang player. That brings some cloudiness to his evaluation due to lack of reps playing stacked, but Louis is physical enough to figure it out if his processing speed takes a step forward. The amount of fun and versatile things you can do with Louis is extremely interesting for a creative defensive coordinator.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jake Golday | LB | Cincinnati<\/p>\n

Consensus Big Board: 56th<\/p>\n

You can insert the same concerns for Louis and paste it for Golday. Despite him being around 6-4 and 240 pounds, Golday spent the majority of his snaps as an overhang. He\u2019s a really rangy athlete who moves exceptionally well for his size. Just how well will Golday\u2019s game translate as a true inside linebacker? Nobody really knows, but there are obvious physical traits to make that transition.<\/p>\n

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Tennessee Titans News<\/p>\n

If Jahmyr Gibbs is the closest comparison for Jeremiyah Love, Dan Campbell makes it crystal clear how worthy he is to be a high first round pick.<\/p>\n

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NFL<\/p>\n

I spoke with Titans coaches and executives at the annual Owners Meetings this week. Here is where I\u2019m at on their first round pick with just a couple weeks left.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Titans have plenty of positions to fill in the 2026 NFL draft, but there\u2019s one I\u2019m convinced…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":849949,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2061],"tags":[4955,9198,7,6,6043,526,394,2411,527],"class_list":{"0":"post-853918","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennessee-titans","8":"tag-2026-nfl-draft","9":"tag-cedric-gray","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-nfl","12":"tag-robert-saleh","13":"tag-tennessee","14":"tag-tennessee-titans","15":"tag-tennesseetitans","16":"tag-titans"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116348465230896681","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/853918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=853918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/853918\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/849949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=853918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=853918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=853918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}