Tennessee Titans play it smart with selection of Peter Skoronski
For the longest time, it really seemed like the Tennessee Titans were ready to make a splash in the 2023 NFL Draft. Picking just outside of the top ten is not a spot the Titans plan to be in again for quite some time. Given the situation before them, there is an argument to be […]
For the longest time, it really seemed like the Tennessee Titans were ready to make a splash in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Picking just outside of the top ten is not a spot the Titans plan to be in again for quite some time. Given the situation before them, there is an argument to be made that Thursday night was a unique opportunity for Tennessee to draft their next franchise quarterback. That's what the fanbase would tell you, at least.
Amidst rumors of a potential trade with the Arizona Cardinals for the third overall selection, the Titans' fanbase got quarterback fever, but would leave the first-round wishing the team had made bigger waves.
Northwestern offensive lineman Peter Skoronski, whom Tennessee selected with the 11th overall pick, is not the quarterback Titans fans were dreaming of. But the versatile lineman was a safe and smart selection that is going to win over the fanbase in due time.
Trading up and drafting a quarterback was a really fun hypothetical, and it would have made a lot of sense for where the Titans are as an organization. Had C.J. Stroud not gone second overall to Houston, I'd imagine trading into number three to draft him was a very real possibility for Tennessee.
Just one problem: He wasn't available.
When Stroud goes off the board at two, trading up becomes completely out of the question. Then Anthony Richardson goes 4th overall to the Houston Texans, and Will Levis…well, the draft picks speak for themselves.
My point is, the Titans' bubble got burst fairly early on when Houston made the logical move of taking Stroud. From that point on, Ran Carthon, Mike Vrabel, and the Titans' front office played things really smart by letting an immediately impactful player at a position of need fall into their laps.
Skoronski is everything the Titans need up front. He is explosive, quick on his feet, highly intelligent, and technically sound. The biggest knock on the Chicagoland native is his arm length (32 and 1/2 inches) and size (6-foot-4, 313 pounds), but Skoronski might just be skilled enough to render those concerns irrelevant.
"Great foot work. He's square. He plays square. He's strong," said Mike Vrabel about Skoronski's ability to overcome size concerns. "I think he uses his mind. I mean, he's intelligent. There's a lot of things you can do to make up for not having 35-inch arms, which very few tackles have. So it's angles, it's strength, it's body control, it's playing square and being able to move his feet."
Free agent acquisition Andre Dillard is currently penciled in at left tackle, but Dillard's limited reps in Philly make him anything but a lock to stick there. Skoronski, Dillard, and veteran Daniel Brunskill all having positional versatility on the line will allow the Titans to find the best fit at left tackle in camp and adjust accordingly.
I'd put my early money on Skoronski to win that battle.
Titans' GM Ran Carthon told the media on Thursday that Skoronski being available made his first draft pick as GM an easy one. "He was a guy that, truth be told, we targeted from the very beginning," Carthon said. "[We] didn't know that if he was going to be there or not so we had other contingency plans, and we got lucky and he was there. So it made the pick really easy for us to pull off at 11."
Rome wasn't built in a day and the next era of Tennessee Titans football isn't going to be either. Whenever the Titans do choose to make a splash and grab their next signal caller, whether that be this offseason or next, they'll need to make sure they surround him with the protection and weapons necessary to succeed. Skoronski is going to be a mainstay in Tennessee's offensive line room for at least the next four (or five) years.
Grabbing a player in the first round that can immediately contribute at a position of need will also allow the Titans to blend their need for turnover with Mike Vrabel's desire to win and compete for AFC South titles.
It may not have been the big splash Titans fans wanted, but mark me down as being all for this selection.
