One Titans player that could create a 'domino effect' and cause a problem
Offensive line was arguably the biggest weakness for the Tennessee Titans in 2022. That much is evident from the team surrendering the 5th most sacks (49) in the NFL last season. With this in mind, Titans GM Ran Carthon made addressing the offensive line a priority in his offseason approach. Tennessee was active in both […]
Offensive line was arguably the biggest weakness for the Tennessee Titans in 2022. That much is evident from the team surrendering the 5th most sacks (49) in the NFL last season.
With this in mind, Titans GM Ran Carthon made addressing the offensive line a priority in his offseason approach. Tennessee was active in both the free agent market and the NFL Draft, looking to bring in impactful players that can be immediate starters on their offensive line. Tennessee drafted Northwestern offensive tackle Peter Skoronski with the 11th overall pick in the draft and signed a number of high-upside veterans.
According to Greg Cosell of NFL Films, one of the Titans’ new offensive line additions is the “most important player” to fixing the serious problem up front, and if things go south, this player could create a domino effect that has massive implications on Tennessee's season.
During a live taping of The Install with Greg Cosell, a podcast hosted by Buck Reising, Cosell discussed the possibility of Tennessee’s offensive line being improved in 2023. The longtime NFL analyst pinned left tackle Andre Dillard as the key to seeing improvement up front.
"I believe that the most important player for the Titans on the offensive line is Andre Dillard because Dillard was brought in to play left tackle and he's a left tackle only," said Cosell. "The Eagles tried him at right tackle a couple years ago and he couldn't do it."
613 of Dillard's 714 (86 percent) career offensive snaps have come lined up at left tackle. In 2022, Dillard came off the bench for Philadelphia as a guard, but the vast majority of his NFL experience comes at left tackle. That is unquestionably the starting position he was paid by the Titans to fill.
"To me, Dillard is critical because if he can't play left tackle, then Skoronski is going to have to play there and then [the Titans] are going to have issues throughout the rest of the offensive line. Dillard was brought in before the draft to play left tackle because they know from scouting him that that's the only position he can play," Cosell said.
"If you can have Dillard play at a reasonably high level at left tackle and Skoronski left guard and Nicholas Petit-Frere, then all of a sudden, that's probably going to be pretty good. Dillard’s the key because if he can't play the left tackle, then that's going to cause a domino effect that could end up being problematic."
2023 first round draft pick Peter Skoronski is versatile enough to succeed at either guard or tackle. Typically with a draft prospect taken as high as Skoronski was (11th overall), you’d like the player to be at a premium position and be a long term tackle. But if Dillard is truly a one position guy as Cosell predicts, playing Skoronski at guard in 2023 might be the more logical option to give Tennessee a more complete starting group.
As we often hear from NFL coaches, it's all about finding the best five guys, not just as individuals, but as a unit.
I don’t have any doubts about Skoronski’s ability to compete as a rookie. Moving Aaron Brewer to center should make his athleticism more prominent in his game and lead to more success. Petit-Frere was more than serviceable as a rookie and Daniel Brunskill is a starting caliber veteran with versatility.
A starting line of Dillard, Skoronski, Brewer, Brunskill, and Pete-Frere could be a major improvement for the Titans in 2023. But if Dillard doesn’t hit at tackle, things begin to fall apart. The Titans have limited depth on the line.
The left tackle position battle will be one of the more fun things to keep an eye on during training camp. Hopefully Carthon’s assessment of the former Eagles first-rounder is good and Dillard wins the job with dominant play.
Listen to full episodes of The Install here!
