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Turron Davenport, ESPN
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans had multiple chances to select L’Jarius Sneed before the Kansas City Chiefs made him the No. 138 pick in the fourth round of the 2020 draft.
Four years later, Tennessee jumped at the opportunity to acquire Sneed by sending a 2025 third-round pick and swapping 2024 seventh-round picks with Kansas City in exchange for the cornerback. Once the trade is official, Sneed has a contract extension in place that will make him one of the highest-paid cornerbacks in NFL history.
Pairing Sneed with recent free agent acquisition Chidobe Awuzie gives the Titans a tremendous upgrade at cornerback.
Tennessee’s 15-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio was the worst in the league last season, according to ESPN’s Stats & Information. Sneed finished with two interceptions last season but didn’t allow a touchdown over 90 targets, which were the most by a defender without a touchdown since Stephon Gilmore did so over 96 targets in 2019.
The Titans have been long overdue for the type of lockdown coverage they hope to get from Sneed. Titans general manager Ran Carthon relied on his first season to assess the team’s situation in the secondary.
Adoree’ Jackson was the 18th overall selection in 2017. The following season saw the addition of Malcolm Butler by way of a five-year, $61 million contract with over $30 million guaranteed in 2018.
Then the Titans used draft picks on cornerbacks Kristian Fulton (second round, 2020), Caleb Farley (first round, 2021) and Roger McCreary (second round, 2022).
With investing that much draft capital on the position, the Titans only saw mixed results, but the way Carthon has approached upgrading the position appears to have put the secondary in a better place.
Only Farley and McCreary are still on the roster after Fulton signed a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Chargers last week. Fulton was one of the 14 cornerbacks who were selected in 2020 before Sneed.
“I’ve been an underdog my whole life,” Sneed said ahead of Super Bowl LVIII. “I embrace it. I love it. It’s what has made me who I am.”
Sneed’s ability to line up on the outside, along with bumping inside to the slot, is the versatility it takes to be a top cornerback. He was one of the key reasons Kansas City’s pass defense only allowed 185.8 passing yards per game last year.
“He loves a challenge,” Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said of Sneed last season. “He wants to go against their very best. That’s why we do it. When you have a guy like that, that you have confidence you can put him on their best guy.”
The list of standout receivers Sneed faced last year includes Tyreek Hill, Stefon Diggs, Davante Adams, A.J. Brown, Justin Jefferson, and Ja’Marr Chase among others. Even though that group reads like a Pro Bowl roster, none of them had 100 receiving yards against Sneed, despite being his primary coverage assignment.
New Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson won’t have to be concerned with opposing teams moving their top pass catcher across the formation to create a favorable matchup. He can simply have Sneed travel with whoever they’re targeting.
“This is a matchup game as well,” Wilson said during his introductory press conference. “You want to have people that are versatile to play numerous positions to adjust and adapt to what you’re getting from the offense.”
Sneed’s willingness to jam wide receivers at the line of scrimmage will help disrupt timing and give pass-rushers more time to get to the quarterback.
Tennessee’s pass defense finished 18th last season, allowing 227.4 yards per game, and its six interceptions were the least. In fact, two players, DaRon Bland (9) and Geno Stone (7), finished with more.
Sneed had two interceptions last season. He may not solve all of the issues in the secondary, but he’s a big part of an overhaul that’s expected to boost the defense.
But the Titans aren’t done. They can still sign free agents, and the draft starts April 25 — where they currently have eight picks, starting at No. 7 overall.
So there’s more opportunities to add, but adding a corner that’s had his imprint all over a defense coming off back-to-back Super Bowls is a good start.