Week 1 was a tough look for the Tennessee Titans, as the club fell 23-10 to the New York Jets in the home opener. Fans had little to be excited about, as the offense couldn't get the ball moving throughout the game. However, one rookie linebacker shined brightly in his NFL debut. So much so that he's now officially the club's starter moving forward.

Reports indicate that Anthony Hill Jr., who was the team's second-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, is now the Titans' starting middle linebacker, according to Turron Davenport of ESPN. Hill will maintain the starting role in Week 2 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

“Titans will start Anthony Hill Jr. at MIKE vs. the Eagles,” Davenport reported.

The 21-year-old linebacker flew around the field in his NFL debut against the Jets. He broke a league record for most tackles by a rookie in their debut game with 16. He also recorded eight stops, which is the second most in a debut, while deflecting two passes. One of those deflections was a should-be forced fumble that the officials somehow didn't give him.

Head coach Robert Saleh is impressed with Anthony Hill Jr. On top of making plays consistently against the Jets, Saleh claimed that the Titans' rookie excels in communication, per Jim Wyatt of TennesseeTitans.com. Hill's emergence gives Tennessee's defense some options at middle linebacker moving forward.

“Anthony Hill Jr. is starting at MIKE, has done a really nice job,” Saleh said. “He's done a good job with communication and checks.”

“Saleh said Cedric Gray and Cody Barton have unique skill sets, and team is working through options,” Wyatt reported.

Anthony Hill Jr. played three years for the Texas Longhorns before declaring for the NFL Draft. He flashed major potential as a tackle machine throughout his collegiate career and has a knack for forcing turnovers. He ended his three years in college with 249 combined tackles (136 solo), 17 sacks, 31.5 tackles for a loss, three interceptions, eight forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.