After not seeing a single snap defensively in the Week 4 loss to the New York Jets, Tennessee Titans cornerback Elijah Molden was back on the field in Week 5 versus the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The organization’s third-round pick in this year’s draft had the most impactful game of his young career, forcing a fumble just three plays into the game.
Titans safety Kevin Byard jumped on the ball, picked it up, and ran it back for a touchdown.
“I mean, I don’t even really know what happened,” Molden admitted after Sunday’s 37-19 victory. “Like, I tackled him (Jaguars tight end Dan Arnold), and then I got up, and the next thing you know [Byard] was in the end zone. It all happened in a flash. When it stood, I was just happy to help out the defense and help out the team and get the game started off on the right foot.”
Molden has been active for all five games this season and was in on 32 percent of the Titans’ defensive snaps on Sunday. The Washington product had three combined tackles on top of the forced fumble.
Elijah Molden with the forced fumble that leads to the #Titans first touchdown of the game 😤💪 pic.twitter.com/lteexeVRsJ
— Titans Radio (@titansradio) October 10, 2021
While he can play multiple positions, Molden primarily played slot corner in college, collecting a team-high four interceptions during his junior season.
In addition to having a nose for the ball, he’s been lauded for his physicality. Leading up the 2021 NFL Draft, scouts described the Titans draft pick as a physical defender with short-area quickness, which is exactly what he demonstrated on the forced fumble.
“It was cool to see him make a tackle and put his face right on the football and get it out of there and make a huge play for us in early in the game,” Titans’ head coach Mike Vrabel said on Monday.
Vrabel has been of the mantra that it doesn’t matter where you came from, but it matters what you do once you’re here. Molden’s strong play last Sunday is sure to earn him additional playing time. He also earned the top Pro Football Focus grade (92.6) among Titans defenders in Sunday’s win.
The Titans head coach has repeatedly stressed the importance of creating turnovers to give the offense a short field.
While the defense has been successful in creating pressure on opposing quarterbacks this season, they also have to create turnovers in the open field. That’s where Molden’s physicality can be a strength to this team.
“I take a lot of pride in it,” Molden said on being labeled a physical player. “Like, I don’t bang my head against the locker before the game. It just comes out whenever I play free, whenever I know what I’m doing, whenever I can digest the call and see the offense. After that, I can just kind of cut it loose. That’s when I make my best play. That’s when I’m stickiest in coverage and all that stuff.”
Molden and the Titans will host Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills on “Monday Night Football” in Week 6.
