Titans take calculated risk with new left tackle
Tennessee Titans sign former Philadelphia Eagles first-round pick Andre Dillard to three-year, $29 million deal to become starting left tackle in Nashville.
The Tennessee Titans have found their left tackle for the 2023 season, reportedly agreeing to a three-year, $29 million deal with former Philadelphia Eagles first-round pick Andre Dillard.
Dillard was selected 22nd overall in the 2019 NFL Draft by the Eagles and shined in limited opportunities during his rookie season before having his career changed by a series of injuries.
Dillard played in 346 offensive snaps in 2019 before missing the entire 2020 season with a biceps injury. In 2021, Dillard bounced back with five starts at left tackle and 340 offensive snaps played, but lost his starting job to breakout star Jordan Mailata.
After Philadelphia declined his fifth-year option and Dillard spent another season as a reserve in 2022, he now lands in Tennessee where he will finally have the opportunity to cash in on his talent.
Even with just nine career starts, Dillard comes as a significant upgrade for the Titans at left tackle from the play of Dennis Daley in 2022.
Signing Dillard is a risk. He's had his struggles with injuries in the past and has limited NFL experience for a player entering his fifth season. There's no way around that. But this risk seems much more calculated than those of the Jon Robinson era.
Dillard is coming from a really unique situation in Philadelphia, where despite adequate play and his first round selection, he lost his job to a breakout star that became one of the top tackles in the league while he was on the shelf with an injury.
By all accounts, Dillard still has the ability of a first round talent, but the Titans won't have to pay him like one. He will give Tennessee a Week 1 starter at left tackle for less than $10 million in AAV.
Tennessee may now direct it's attention to the interior offensive line in the draft, and selecting a player like Northwestern OL Peter Skoronski or Georgia's Broderick Jones could give the Titans a young and talented guard to dominate the left side of the trenches. A true "tackle" at the top of the draft has become less essential given Dillard's age and upside.
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