The Tennessee Titans safety room seems to be in a pretty good spot heading into 2025. That’s good news, because it’s set to be in flux after this year. And what we see from this group in the fall will determine the future of the position in Nashville.
This is the full safety edition of an ongoing article series, breaking down the Titans projected 53-man roster one position at a time. Here's what we've covered so far, in case you've missed it:
- Quarterbacks
- Wide Receivers
- Offensive Tackles
- Interior Offensive Line
- Running Backs
- Tight Ends
- Special Teams
- Edge Rushers
- Linebackers
In this installment, we’ll talk about the shifting landscape of the Titans insurance over the top on defense:
Safeties
- Amani Hooker
- Xavier Woods
- Kevin Winston Jr.
- Mike Brown
Cut: Julius Wood, Kendall Brooks, Mark Perry
Underrated Amani: Contract Year Edition
Amani Hooker is just a really solid safety, man. He ascended into the conversation of being one of the best at his position in the league playing alongside Kevin Byard, when they were arguably the best safety tandem in the league at their peak. Since Byard moved on from Tennessee, more has been expected of Hooker. And while it hasn’t always been perfect, I’m not sure he’s always gotten the recognition he deserves.
His biggest limitation, in my estimation, is that he’s not the world’s best babysitter back there. More advanced football minds might disagree, or say that this is too simplistic a way of putting it. But from a 10,000ft view, that’s how it feels to me.
Some safeties are most useful or dynamic in their capacity as “fixers”. Kevin Byard, at his best, was this. He was a quarterback on the back end who would make the defense right in key moments. Quandre Diggs had this quality to him in the first half of last season too, before he got hurt.
Now, I’m not saying Hooker is too slow mentally or physically to handle this kind of thing on the back end. But I do feel his impact slip more when his surroundings are diminished than other safeties in the league. He’s at his best—and is truly a threat to opposing offenses—when he’s able to play uncorked. When he’s able to fly around and handle his job at the highest level, while others handle theirs.
With Xavier Woods and Kevin Winston Jr. in the fold, I’m hoping that he’ll be allowed to play that style of ball as much as possible. Because after this year, his future with the Tennessee Titans is in question.
Xavier Woods’ Reliability
When the Titans began signing free agents this spring, there was a clear theme to the kinds of players they brought in: reliability.
Availability is your best ability as they say, and Xavier Woods has been a pillar of availability. He started in all 17 games for the Panthers last season, and has played in 63 of the last 68 games possible.
He’ll start alongside Amani Hooker to begin the year, and should be a reliable option to start all season if needed. But his contract is up after this season just like Amani’s, and the future of this position rests in the hands of the rookie who is going to try to break into the rotation quickly…
Winston’s Ceiling Is The Roof
I’m probably overly-confident that Titans fans are sleeping on what Kevin Winston Jr. could be. The Titans 3rd Round pick has largely been out of sight and out of mind, but he’s going to be a full-go this week as training camp starts and I think his presence is going to be felt quickly.
This is a college prospect who had serious 1st Round potential had he not torn his ACL at the beginning of his final season at Penn State. The Titans managed to get him late in the 3rd instead, and they aren’t too worried about his injury history. His recovery has gone very well the past year, and it’s the only significant injury of his football career. ACL’s happen, even to the most durable athletes.
Winston was a tackling machine in college, and I don’t mean that lightly: he literally did not miss a tackle. He had a 0.0% missed tackle rate. If he got his hand on you, he was tackling you. End of story. He’s rangy and athletic. I’m not sure what’s not to like about this player. I think he should be expected to push for a starting role by the end of the season, and I really will not be surprised by however early that time comes.
