Tyler's Take: Titans CB Kristian Fulton Should Not Be Benched Yet

The Tennessee Titans have seen an incredible drop from preseason expectations to on-field performance with cornerback Kristian Fulton early in the year. After being one of the top performers in camp, Fulton has been a liability in three out of the four games he's played this season.

Fulton has allowed 14 catches for 272 yards with one touchdown and four penalties committed. Those penalties often coming in the worst moments with dire consequences. With the struggles of the fourth-year corner out of LSU, head coach Mike Vrabel admitted he has and will consider benching Fulton.

While any fan of the team or even Vrabel himself are justified if they want Fulton on the pine, the problem is there is no alternative that offers similar upside. Fulton has had an up-and-down career with the Titans full of inconsistency and injuries, but he's also given them some of the best corner play they've had over the last few seasons.

Now, there of course is a line in sand. If Fulton continues these mistakes and continues to make mental errors then yes, you would have to bench him, but that time isn't now. While Fulton is an easy target, giving up 193 rushing yards and only scoring 16 points on offense seem like bigger issues.

The real problem is though, there is no one who can play the spot better than Fulton in this organization or in reasonable gettable a trade. The options behind Fulton on the depth chart don't inspire confidence and teams aren't just giving away talented young corners heading into Week 6.

Fulton's direct replacement would be Tre Avery. Avery has had good moments for the Titans and he certainly is a solid backup corner, but the last time Avery had to start, Week 2 against the Los Angeles Chargers, Avery was attacked.

The second-year corner out of Rutgers was thrown at 15 times, gave up 12 catches for 100 yards, two touchdowns and had a pass interference penalty. The truth is Avery looked even worse than Fulton through most of that game even if he did have his bright spots.

Behind Avery, you have the recently-acquired Kindle Vildor who the Titans got in a trade from the Chicago Bears prior to the season. Vildor has only played nine defensive snaps so far this season and appeared in two games.

However, worth considering in 2022 in 296 coverage snaps, Vildor committed 5 penalties, gave up three touchdowns and a passer rating of 112 when thrown at. It was worse in every category in 2021.

Vildor was brought over to help on special teams and has barely been asked to do that because of rookie Anthony Kendall. Another name on the corner list, Kendall is an undrafted rookie out of Baldwin-Wallace who surprised when he made the 53-man roster.

Kendall, like Vildor, is a guy meant to help on the Titans' special teams units. He has made a positive impact on those groups, playing 81 special teams snaps and registering four tackles, but Kendall is not ready to be a full-time starter at boundary corner in the NFL. Certainly isn't better than Fulton.

The Titans added cornerback Tay Gowan to their practice squad on Monday. Gowan is a long, physical corner standing at 6-foot-2. Gowan has played 44 defensive snaps in his two years in the NFL, none coming in 2022. He is not a valid replacement for Fulton.