Packers 2016 Schedule Preview, Vol. 9: Tennessee Titans

Will the additions of DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry spell a new era for Tennessee’s offense?

By Evan "Tex" Western@TexWestern Jul 5, 2016, 5:00pm CDT

Today, we continue our look at the Green Bay Packers’ 2016 opponents, as we move along to the ninth game of the season. On November 13th, the Packers will travel south to Tennessee to play the Titans, their second straight AFC South opponent.

The Titans had a notable spring, as you’ll see below, but arguably the biggest move they made was moving out of the top spot in the 2016 NFL Draft. They traded back with the Los Angeles Rams, moving all the way back to the 15th pick before moving back up into the top ten later on to select Michigan State offensive tackle Jack Conklin as their first pick.

The Titans went a disappointing 3-13 last season, but with quarterback Marcus Mariota now having a full season of experience and with some major additions on offense, this team should be much more potent at moving down the field and scoring points. Will the defense be able to hold up its end of the bargain?

Here’s a look at Tennessee from our colleagues over at Music City Miracles, the SB Nation blog covering the Titans.

Tennessee Titans

Notable free agent additions

C Ben Jones, WR Rishard Matthews, S Rashad Johnson

Notable free agent departures

S Michael Griffin

Trades

Acquired RB DeMarco Murray

Draft picks expected to contribute as rookies

OT Jack Conklin, DE Kevin Dodd, RB Derrick Henry

Biggest offseason addition

DeMarco Murray

Biggest storyline heading into training camp

Can the Titans make “exotic-smashmouth” an effective way to score points in 2016? They are committed to power football. The NFL has moved to a pass happy game. Defenses are playing more and more nickel and dime. The Titans think they can take advantage of this by going with a power lineup.

Under-the-radar storyline heading into training camp

Ray Horton moved on this offseason. That leaves Dick LeBeau as the man calling the shots on the defensive side of the ball - most people thought LeBeau was calling the shots last year. It turned out he wasn’t. How much different will the 2016 version of the defense look?

Notable injuries heading into training camp

2nd round pick Kevin Dodd had foot surgery in May. He is supposed to be ready for camp. Derrick Morgan is also still recovering from shoulder surgery.