The Tennessee Titans are about to have some decisions to make on some big contracts, or else they’re going to have to find a way to feed all the hungry mouths. They’re in a situation where they need some of the young (read: cheap) players to start standing out, and maybe it’ll alleviate some of those needs.
Rashad Weaver strikes me as one such player given how folks seem to think Bud Dupree is on his way out of Tennessee. We’ve seen just how crucial the success of the pass rush is to the overall success of this team in how it has performed in the absence of Denico Autry. Harold Landry was lost for 2022 before the season even started. So what happens if Dupree doesn’t come back and Autry and Landry aren’t the same after their injuries?!?! I’m playing a bit of devil’s advocate here, of course, but it’s an illustration of how close this unit is to falling off. Given how important it is to what this Titans defense does, I’d say they could definitely use a young player like Weaver to start showing up. Worst case scenario, he’s your 4th pass rushing piece. Best case scenario, he develops into a pass rusher you can build around.
Weaver was a guy who came out of Pittsburgh after a productive career for the Panthers – he was touted for his size, length, and straight up power. The knock was that he wasn’t necessarily “bendy” enough…not exactly the most dynamic of athletes, if you will. The Titans grabbed him in the 4th round of the 2021 NFL Draft, and he showed some flashes in the preseason before injuries sidelined his rookie season. He showed some more flashes this past training camp and preseason, but despite having 5.5 sacks in the nine games he’s played for the Titans this season, we haven’t seen that same level of consistently solid play translate to meaningful NFL game action. He made a few really good plays against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, and that made me want to check in on him a bit. So, here we go – my notes after honing in on the interesting young Titans pass rusher.
Checking in on Rashad Weaver
*We know the Titans love to rotate their players in and out on defense like crazy. Weaver was nowhere to be found on the first two drives of this game. There was a lot of Edwards-Simmons-Tart-Dupree fronts early on. Thinking about Weaver’s potential, I was kind of surprised by how much they used Tarell Basham given they just signed the guy. They even had Joe Schobert at the line of scrimmage at times, too. It made me wonder if that’s indicative of how they view Weaver, or if it’s just a byproduct of how often they rotate guys on defense.
*I know we’ve all cracked a joke about how the Titans drop Harold Landry into coverage, but they really don’t have any qualms with dropping their linebackers and pass rushers. Weaver isn’t the rangiest guy to begin with, so I can’t imagine seeing him one on one with a shifty guy like Christian Kirk is an ideal situation. At least he’s in a position to make the tackle if this ball does go Kirk’s way, but I can’t imagine the Titans honestly think this is the type of thing Weaver is best suited to do. This is not putting the guy in a position to succeed.
I don't know how it happened, but I don't think Rashad Weaver 1:1 with Christian Kirk is ideal. The play went to Zay Jones, so all's well that ends well, I guess? pic.twitter.com/W87XYX9kqZ
— The Unofficial Titans Podcast (@TitansPod) December 16, 2022
*Here’s an illustration of what Weaver does best:
Great play by Weaver here to get around 85 – you see the length on display as he extends to bat this ball down. pic.twitter.com/aBjDAgH7n6
— The Unofficial Titans Podcast (@TitansPod) December 16, 2022
#85 chips him and then turns around all sneaky like to be an outlet for Trevor Lawrence. But, Weaver does an excellent job of reading Lawrence’s eyes, recognizes the pass coming, and uses that length he’s been known for to bat that ball down. If this thing goes as planned, it’s probably a decent gain for the Jags, so Weaver gets major props for busting this one open.
*They seem to be lining him up on the left side of the offensive line an awful lot.
*I don’t love him seeing him getting blocked out of a play by a wide receiver in a situation where if he could’ve shed the block, he’d have been in a great spot to blow the play up. I’m not sure if this is an example of the sluggish lateral movement some scouts cited throughout the draft process, or if he just didn’t realize Kirk was going to throw this block.

*Cam Robinson stood him up a couple of times, and Weaver just didn’t show the burst and agility it took to shed the blocks. He tried going low on another play, and was ineffective as well. Maybe it was just the match-up, but they seemed to line him up on the opposite side of the offensive line more after a series of reps against Robinson.
*Weaver had more success on the right side of the line. He does a fantastic job of faking outside, throwing #75 off, and then crossing inside and rushing this throw. This is the play that should’ve been an interception, but it went through the hands of Roger McCreary and into the hands of Zay Jones for a touchdown. Oh, what could’ve been.

*Has a great play against #68 that showed his ability to just drive a guy back.
*His second deflected pass truly was a thing of beauty. He reads Lawrence the whole time, recognizes the throw that’s coming, and jumps up using his big frame to block the ball. It could’ve been an interception.
*Dude’s winning battles on the right side of this Jags offensive line. Shane Bowen and company begin leaning into this more as the game winds down – he’s in on more defensive snaps, and he’s in on the right side of the Jags offensive line.
*Fair to criticize me for picking a game that the Titans defense, as a whole, struggled in to catch up on Weaver. Also, fair to criticize me for not knowing shit about fuck. I get it. I can take it.
Conclusion: I honestly have no idea and have come away from this game more confused about Weaver’s long term potential with the Titans. His game against the Jags lines up with a lot of what we’ve seen from him since being drafted – he shows some flashes of great potential with a powerful drive back, solid instincts, and length that can impact throws and bat ’em down. He’s certainly not a liability out there – I think the Titans can trust him in a lot of situations, but he doesn’t shed blocks consistently enough to become an absolute pass rush demon. He’s probably in the right spot where he’s at right now, but if he could ever develop a more consistent ability to beat guys when straight up power alone doesn’t do it, he’d become a real impact player for this defense.
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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, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.
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