After finishing 11-5 and the 2020 AFC South Champions, the Tennessee Titans were done in by bitter AFC North rivals in quarterback Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens on the opening weekend of the 2021 playoffs.

Now, general manager Jon Robinson and coach Mike Vrabel open the 2021 regular season with hope and expectation, and the need for new breakout players to help the Titans, and the city of Nashville, return to the Super Bowl.

Who has a chance to star this season? Opportunity is ample, but three faces immediately come to mind.

Breakout Player No. 1: Jeffery Simmons, Defensive Tackle

Taken 19th overall in the 2019 NFL Draft, former Mississippi State Bulldogs defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons entered the league not only with injury questions, but character questions — something Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk had to sift through before giving the final say on the selection.

The choice to take him is starting to pay its dividends, and Simmons is primed for a super season in year three.

Simmons suffered a torn ACL while training for his highly-anticipated draft day, and the Titans took him anyway. He'd play in nine games with seven starts, notching 32 tackles, two sacks and one pass deflection during the span.

In 2020, Simmons would move from left defensive end to defensive tackle, where he'd blossom as part of the Titans' interior rush package. In 15 games, all starts, the Louisiana native and Bayou bruiser finished with 49 tackles, 14 quarterback hits (up from two his rookie year), five pass deflections and three fumble recoveries — become the true trench warrior Tennessee brass hoped he'd be after letting five-time Pro Bowler Jurrell Casey walk for peanuts in a trade to Denver.

Remember, Simmons did this while the rest of the Titans' pass rush — particularly offseason acquisitions in Jadeveon Clowney and Vic Beasley — were largely injured, struggling, or both all year. Opponents knew Simmons was “the guy,” and he still performed well, grading at 83.9 from Pro Football Focus.

The Titans have already improved the defensive line on paper by signing veteran defensive end and former Oakland Raiders and Indianapolis Colts star Denico Autry, former Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher Bud Dupree and a solid man-to-man corner in former New Orleans Saints defensive back Janoris Jenkins — only giving Simmons more opportunity to operate one-on-one against interior offensive linemen.

Prediction: 55 tackles, 20 quarterback hits, seven deflections, three fumble recoveries, five sacks, his first Pro Bowl appearance

Breakout Player No. 2: Anthony Firkser, Tight End

The former Harvard Crimson had a slow start to his NFL career, bouncing from both the New York Jets and the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2017 — before landing with the Tennessee Titans on May 14, 2018.

Since then, the 6-foot-2, 240-pound pass-catcher has been quite reliable for both Marcus Mariota and Ryan Tannehill, bringing forward his best this past 2020 campaign:

  • 2018: 19 catches, 225 yards, 20 targets, 11 first downs, one touchdown (long of 28 yards).
  • 2019: 14 catches, 207 yards, 24 targets, nine first downs, one touchdown (long of 39 yards).
  • 2020: 39 catches, 387 yards, 53 targets, 26 first downs, one touchdown (long of 45 yards).

With an afterburners type tight end like Jonnu Smith signing a four-year, $50 million contract to join the New England Patriots, Firkser automatically becomes Tennessee's most-seasoned tight end by default. He finished with the fourth-most targets and catches in the Titans offense in 2020, and he's had one drop in his career.

He's playing on a one-year deal, too, which will almost certainly motivate him more as time comes with essence, and Firkser's dependability is only going to make him a further asset for the Titans in 2021 as elite wideout A.J. Brown draws more attention. And Pro Football Focus analyst Ben Linsey has Firkser among the NFL's top 30 tight ends (at 28) coming into 2021, based on 77.7 receiving grade in 2020.

Prediction: 50 catches, 520 yards, 32 first downs, three touchdowns

Breakout Player No. 3: Josh Reynolds, Wide Receiver

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If the Tennessee Titans don't make a bold move for perennial Pro Bowler and Atlanta Falcons star Julio Jones, then this offense is going to move forward with what it's got. And what it's got isn't just some scrap heap.

With former Titans first-rounder Corey Davis signing with the New York Jets and longtime slot receiver Adam Humphries off to the Washington Football Team, 127 targets and 88 catches from the 2020 season are now in other locker rooms.

This means recent Titans signee and former Los Angeles Rams slot receiver Josh Reynolds has a clear and present opportunity to take over as one of Ryan Tannehill's security blankets, and Reynolds has the ability to produce almost immediately.

Selected in the fourth round (117th overall) in the 2017 NFL Draft out of Texas A&M, Reynolds only improved while on Sean McVay's sideline — going from starting one game in his rookie season, to starting 13 games in 2020 alongside elite speedsters in Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods.

He finished with 81 targets, 52 catches, 618 yards and two touchdowns last year, and he's only got eight drops in four seasons.

Sure, the Titans also selected former Louisville star Dez Fitzpatrick to compete and take snaps, and four-year professional Cameron Batson will battle for snaps, as well. But Reynolds is the proven commodity, and Ryan Tannehill had little issue spreading the football last year.

Prediction: 65 catches, 810 yards receiving, five touchdowns