Dillon Radunz could force the Titans to make a difficult decision
NASHVILLE — Tennessee Titans offensive lineman Dillon Radunz could force the team to make a difficult decision if he continues his upward trend. After tearing his ACL in December of 2022, Radunz was an after thought for the 2023 Titans. Tennessee signed left tackle Andre Dillard and right guard Daniel Brunskill in free agency to […]
NASHVILLE — Tennessee Titans offensive lineman Dillon Radunz could force the team to make a difficult decision if he continues his upward trend.
After tearing his ACL in December of 2022, Radunz was an after thought for the 2023 Titans. Tennessee signed left tackle Andre Dillard and right guard Daniel Brunskill in free agency to become instant starters. GM Ran Carthon then used the 11th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft on versatile offensive lineman Peter Skoronski.
While Radunz was working on his knee, the Titans were reshuffling the deck in the trenches, and it seemed like Radunz was being left behind.
Even if Radunz was healthy, I'm not sure the Titans would have plugged him in as one of their five offensive line starters this year. There was just not a big enough sample size with Radunz only playing 400 career NFL snaps for him to be viewed as a reliable starter. Add the knee injury and offseason additions to that equation and the odds were stacked against Radunz to play much meaningful football in 2023.
But Radunz has now defied the odds. Just 8.5 months removed from ACL surgery, Radunz returned to game action against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday filling in for Skoronski (illness) at left guard. Xavier Newman started the game, but Mike Vrabel turned to Radunz after two failed offensive drives and the 25-year-old took advantage of his opportunity.
"We started with [Newman] and give a lot of credit to Dillon to be able to jump in there," said Mike Vrabel of Radunz's performance on Monday afternoon. "Being out eight and a half months, it's an impressive feat for him to play over 50 snaps that he did and playing fairly well."
Radunz started his return with a bang. On his first play back on the field, the former North Dakota State Bison pancaked Chargers rookie Scott Matlock.
"I'm just really proud of what he was able to accomplish getting himself back," said Titans offensive line coach Jason Houghtaling when I spoke to him on Thursday. "As far as game day goes, I think it's just like every lineman whenever they play a game. there's some good, there's some bad."
"At the end of the day man, [Dillon] was out there, he worked his butt off, he did some really good things and the fact that he was able to go in there and function the way he did is a compliment to him and everybody here who got him ready," Houghtaling told me.
There's no denying the fact that Radunz's quick return from injury and Week 2 performance is helping his stock. Tennessee's coaching staff clearly believes Radunz can be an adequate left guard, because Radunz has been working with the starters during practice drills this week. Look for him to get the start in Cleveland on Sunday.
It makes sense. Skoronski had an appendectomy last weekend and is going to miss at least one, if not two more games. Newman didn't get the job done, so Radunz is going to get some in-game opportunity at left guard. But what if Radunz were to really shine over the next few weeks?
Mike Vrabel already said that Radunz was "playing fairly well," and that's fresh off the PUP list with zero preseason snaps to get ready. It may not be gospel, but Radunz's 74.3 PFF grade (third highest on the team) would at least support the idea that Radunz was serviceable against the Chargers.
I have to assume that there is still room for Radunz to improve as he gets more snaps under his belt. Then what? Does Radunz go back to the bench? Does Peter Skoronski move to left tackle and Andre Dillard become a backup? Can Radunz play some tackle? Where do all the puzzle pieces fit?
I talked to both Mike Vrabel and Jason Houghtaling this week about the future plans for Radunz and where they see him fitting in, but neither one would give an indication about whether they view Radunz as a guard or tackle. They're focused on Cleveland. Former offensive line coach Keith Carter said on multiple occasions that Radunz would work primarily as a guard, but has that perspective shifted with a new coaching staff and different pieces on the O-line?
I don't think this decision is as black and white as it may seem. Skoronski moving to tackle in the middle of the season doesn't feel like a realistic possibility, but the Titans might need to give some serious thought to trying Radunz at either left or right tackle when Skoronski returns.
Radunz was a second round draft pick that only has one more year on his rookie contract after 2023. He played 53 offensive snaps on Sunday, which is 11.5 percent of his career snaps played. That paints a pretty clear picture of how scarce opportunities have been for him.
If Radunz continues to play well with Skoronski out, wouldn't you want to see what he can do at tackle at some point this season? Chris Hubbard is making league minimum and Andre Dillard's cap hit is just over $2.5 million this year.
There is still $7.79 million of dead cap on Dillard's contract, but at the same time, his cap hit for 2024 is $10.7 million. The Titans will need to make a decision this offseason if Dillard is their left tackle of the future and it may help to see an internal option…a.k.a. Radunz, in action before coming to that conclusion.
Keep a close eye on Radunz over the next few weeks. If he continues to progress and maintains his upward trend, the Titans could be forced to make really difficult decision about his future.
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