Titans' Anthony Hill Jr. named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month

The Tennessee Titans may have stumbled out of the gate in the 2026 season, but those struggles may have helped them find a star.

Rookie linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. burst onto the scene with an incredible 16-tackle NFL debut against the New York Jets in Week 1, subbing for Cedric Gray, who was in concussion protocol, and hasn't looked back. Over three weeks, the second-round pick out of Texas has led the Titans with 34 tackles and added two quarterback pressures and two passes defensed.

Those numbers earned Hill his first award of the season on Thursday, when he was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month for September.

Hill now joins a short list of former Titans who have earned this honor, and he is only the second defensive player to do so.

Here is the short list of Titans who have earned NFL Rookie of the Month honors.

1996 RB Eddie George (Sept)1999 DE Jevon Kearse (Sept., Nov., Dec.)2008 RB Chris Johnson (Sept)2015 QB Marcus Mariota (Sept)2019 WR A.J. Brown (Dec)