Robert Saleh’s insight into Alontae Taylor’s shifting role exposes a potential void at nickel corner, forcing Tennessee to rethink its secondary strategy ahead of a pivotal season.
Even after all the additions the Tennessee Titans have made this offseason, this roster is by no means perfect.
John Franklin-Myers, Wan'Dale Robinson, Alontae Taylor and Cor'Dale Flott were the most significant free-agent additions. Then you have to take in the 2026 NFL Draft class.
The Titans selected Carnell Tate, Keldric Faulk, Anthony Hill Jr., Fernando Carmona, Nicholas Singleton, Pat Coogan, Jackie Marshall and Jaren Kanak.
Tennessee covered a lot of ground with the moves it made.
The defensive line is now worlds better than it was a year ago, with Jeffery Simmons, Franklin-Myers, Faulk and Jermaine Johnson in place.
At receiver, Robinson and Tate have given Cam Ward more weapons to work with. At the beginning of last season, his starters were Calvin Ridley, Tyler Lockett and Van Jefferson.
Then, you have cornerback.
After the L'Jarius Sneed debacle, the Titans needed reinforcements at corner. Luckily, Taylor and Flott will be starting on the outside. Those two spots are filled, but Robert Saleh may have revealed a big hole that the Titans still have in the secondary.
He spoke to Taylor Zarzour, The Voice of the Titans, on a recent episode of "The OTP." Saleh was asked about Taylor and revealed that he is moving from nickel corner to a full-time corner and part-time nickel with the Titans.
"Elite competitor. You know, he's making a shift from part-time corner, full-time nickel to a full-time corner, part-time nickel, and it is different out there, but he's been very deliberate in his approach. The way he executes, and I'm not just talking about full-speed reps. I'm talking about even walkthrough, he's very deliberate and being mindful of the techniques."
This puts Marcus Harris into question, who was lined up to start at nickel for the Titans this season. Harris was a 2025 NFL Draft pick out of Cal and played in 14 games with five starts.
This could mean a lot of things.
The first one that comes to mind is that Saleh may want to see more from Harris and will be rotating Taylor in at nickel since he's more experienced. Harris only has five starts under his belt, so it makes sense.
If that's the case, that it makes you wonder where Harris will play when Taylor is lining up from slot receivers.
Does this mean that we could see more of Joshua Williams, too? On Ourlads.com, Williams is listed as the backup behind Taylor on the outside.
You also have a guy like Micah Robinson, who started one game for the Titans in 2025.
At the end of the day, I think this can all be boiled down to Harris not having as much experience at slot corner as Saleh wants.
Taylor has multiple years of starting experience at nickel with the New Orleans Saints. It's easy to see why Saleh would want to rotate him in until Harris gets more comfortable and can be trusted more.
It seems like the Titans are going to have a rotation of players at nickel to begin the season potentially.
