CG #33

Cedric Gray

Linebacker · North Carolina

A former North Carolina tackling machine who turned an injury-shortened rookie year into a breakout, team-leading 164-tackle season for Tennessee.

Cedric Gray arrived in the NFL as one of the most productive tacklers in North Carolina history, and after a shoulder injury cost him half his rookie season, he answered by winning the Titans' starting job outright. He enters the conversation as one of the league's most reliable young linebackers after a 2025 campaign that ranked among the NFL's tackle leaders.

★ First-team All-ACC selection (2022, 2023)

★ Butkus Award semifinalist

★ Led the Titans in tackles in 2025 and ranked among the NFL's top tacklers league-wide

Path to the league

Gray started for three seasons at North Carolina, earning first-team All-ACC honors in both 2022 and 2023 and drawing Butkus Award semifinalist recognition. The Titans drafted him in the fourth round (106th overall) of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Career highlights

Over three seasons at UNC, Gray played in 51 games with 37 starts and piled up 369 tackles, 8.5 sacks and five interceptions, headlined by his 145-tackle, first-team All-American-caliber 2022 season. His 2022 senior campaign also included six pass breakups and multiple forced fumbles as he became the Tar Heels' defensive centerpiece.

2025 season recap

After a shoulder injury landed him on injured reserve to open his rookie year, Gray came back to win the Titans' full-time starting linebacker job in 2025 and led the team with 164 tackles, ranking among the league's top five tacklers. He added seven tackles for loss, four pass deflections and a recovered fumble across 16 games, and Pro Football Focus graded his run defense as one of the best of any linebacker in the NFL that season.