Titans HC Robert Saleh said Friday that rookie Anthony Hill Jr. will keep the starting MLB job after impressing with his communication and defensive checks while starting in place of Cedric Gray (concussion) in Week 1. According to Jim Wyatt of the team website, Saleh added that "Cedric Gray and Cody Barton have unique skill sets and team is working through options."
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It's a particularly notable shift because Hill didn't appear in line to start the opener until the off-field accident that caused Gray's concussion the weekend before the start of the season.
At the same time, Tennessee clearly valued Hill as a prospect, drafting him in Round 2 this April.
We're treating Hill as the Titans' lead LB the rest of the way and have vaulted his projections for both Week 2 and the rest of the season.
We'll see about the rest of the corps. Barton should be headed for a backup role. He has never been particularly good at anything besides tricking teams into believing he should start.
It took until his fourth season in Seattle for Barton to enter the lineup. The Seahawks let him walk after that season, and Washington started him for all 13 of his appearances. Then the Commanders let him walk, and Denver gave him a turn. After that season came his Titans contract ahead of 2025.
As a rookie, Gray tied for seventh in Pro Football Focus grade among 100 LBs who played at least 200 snaps. Barton tied for 75th. Here's how they compared across categories:
| Player | Overall | Run D | Pass Rush | Cover |
| Gray | 78.9 | 92.7 | 55.4 | 59.0 |
| Barton | 52.5 | 46.0 | 60.2 | 56.9 |
Gray's vastly superior run defense would seem especially attractive for the Week 2 clash with the Eagles, so I'd bet on him leading Barton in playing time. As of this writing, though, Gray has yet to gain full clearance to return from his concussion.
He's officially questionable but seems to be trending toward playing after putting in full practices all week.
Hill landed among our IDP waiver wire targets for Week 2. I'm also holding Gray for now where possible.
