Usually, at this time every season, I rank the most valuable Tennessee Titans of the season from 10-1. But, that feels kinda pretentious and dumb, so I’ve had a change of heart. Instead, this year, I’m looking back at my game notes from the season, tallying up who had the most impactful performances, and looking at who effected the season in the most positive manner to arrive at our 2020 class of “Titans MVPs.” Everybody listed here is getting one of these fake and seemingly arbitrary MVP trophies…
Offense
AJ Brown – Back to back 1,000-yard seasons to kick off his career is a hell of a way to get started. Brown missed a couple of games this season due to injury, and it was later revealed that the stallion pretty much played all of 2020 hurt. And, he still hung 70 catches for 1,075 yards and 11 touchdowns on the board. A whopping 79% of his catches also went for first downs. I don’t know that the Titans have ever had a dude quite like Arthur Juan, either. In the finale against the Texans, Mike Vrabel told Ryan Tannehill to just “find AJ” and throw it to him on the final drive. Brown delivered – hauling in a huge catch that set up the game-winning field goal. Like I said, I don’t know that the Titans have ever had a “just go find him” kind of dude. But, Brown has emerged as that guy, and in the process, has become one of the most promising young receivers in the whole damn game.
Corey Davis – The pressure was on for Corey Davis entering the season, and the man rose up to the challenge. He also missed a couple of games, but still posted 65 catches for 984 yards and five touchdowns. MAN – what would a 100% healthy Brown and 100% healthy Davis look like throughout the course of an entire season? Davis is set to become a free agent, so we’ll have to wait to see what the Titans do with him before getting our hopes. Regardless, he played well enough in 2020 to earn himself a nice payday wherever he winds up.
Nate Davis – Big time breakthrough campaign for Nate Davis, a guy many believe had earned a spot in the Pro Bowl (he did a couple of first team All Pro votes). But, this was the book on Davis coming out of the draft – he was a supremely talented, but raw, prospect. The thinking was that if he could just polish some things, his potential was through the roof. That’s starting to manifest itself, and now this dude is a rock along the offensive line. He was credited with allowing just one sack for the entirety of 2020.
Derrick Henry – I mean, what words can I write that you guys haven’t already read about how special our King is?!?! 2,027 rushing yards….17 touchdowns…it’s quite literally the stuff that makes history. He should’ve at least been more firmly entrenched in the MVP discussion. For me, if you’re looking at the definition of the word ‘valuable,’ I don’t know that any man is as valuable to his team as Henry is to the Titans. The rightful MVP in my book.
Ben Jones – Jones has become “Steady Eddie” along that Titans offensive line. He finished the season as the Titans’ highest rated offensive lineman per Pro Football Focus. He was the sixth highest rated Titan on offense, but played 1,092 snaps in 2020. The only Titan with a higher offensive rating that also played over a thousand snaps was Ryan Tannehill. He was also the 5th highest-rated center in the entire NFL in 2020. Give this man his due.
Ryan Tannehill – Y’all remember the nervous energy throughout the fan base before the season started? Every outlet in town writing their own version of the “can Tannehill sustain his 2019 success?” debate. That was the question – was 2019 legit? Or, was it just a mirage? Well, I think that question has clearly been answered, as Tannehill remains a top 10 quarterback in the NFL. He was 5th in the NFL with a passer rating of 106.5.
Really, the whole damn offensive line – King Henry goes off for 2,000 yards, and this group didn’t get a single Pro Bowl nod? That’s pretty amazing. Taylor Lewan went down with a season-ending injury early, so Ty Sambrailo steps in until HE gets hurt, too. Just pure pandemonium on the left side of that line, but David Quessenberry said, “I got this,” and the whole damn train kept on rolling. Rodger Saffold was critical in run-blocking, as usual, at left guard. And, the Titans should be thanking their lucky stars that they had Touchdown Dennis Kelly on the right side (’cause the answer damn sure wasn’t their first round pick…). And, shout out to Jonnu Smith while we’re at it. Dude was poised for a breakout season, but after all of the injuries to the o-line, the Titans used him more in blocking to pitch in and help out. He deserves some love for this 2,000-yard season as well. All in all, a commendable season from this entire position group.
Defense/Special Teams
Jayon Brown – In case you can’t tell by the fact that I’m having to pick dudes that missed significant time due to injury, it’s hard to find some highlights of this defense in 2020. But, Brown was absolutely on a positive trajectory before being injured. He averaged 7.6 tackles per game, had 5.5 TFLs, a sack, an interception, and a forced fumble in the 10 games he played.
Malcolm Butler – Butler is THE unquestioned MVP of the Titans defense in 2020. Dude played 1,150 snaps this season, and finished as PFF’s 15th ranked cornerback on the season. He was tight in coverage, and did a phenomenal job while the sky appeared to be falling down around him. I know he’s a popular choice to be a cap casualty this offseason, but that would be a mistake….at least in this degenerate Titans blogger’s opinion. He was second on the team in tackles with 100, and tied with Amani Hooker for the team lead in interceptions with four.
Brett Kern – Kern’s been on this list every year that I’ve done it. I’m not sure what that says about the Titans, but I know what it says about Kern. The dude has perennially been one of the best punters in the game. His long from 2020 was 66 yards, and he had an average of 45.8 yards per punt. He continues to be the highlight of the Titans special teams.
Jeffery Simmons – Early on in the season, it looked like Simmons was well on his way to entering the elite defensive linemen conversation. He was an absolute force up front, wrecking pockets and frustrating opposing rushers as a brick wall in front of them. Injuries, and maybe a little bit of adjustments from opposing offenses, cooled him off a bit, but he still finished the season as PFF’s 11th-ranked interior defensive lineman in the league. Big Jeff is still on his way to becoming a superstar.
If I had to pick one person to be the team MVP…just to keep up the tradition on SoBros Network….it’s Henry, easy. Check out my lists from previous years here:
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Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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