How on Earth Do the Titans Fix This Offensive Line?

The Tennessee Titans have some serious work to do just to get this offensive line back to a competitive place.

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The list of issues plaguing the 7-10 Tennessee Titans is long. There’s no doubt about that. The team flamed out on a seven-game losing streak to finish the season after starting 7-3 and looking like they were going to be a scrappy, tough out come playoff time. That never materialized. The defensive front was good, but the unit as a whole was plagued by injuries – Jeffery Simmons played half the year shooting up his ankle. Denico Autry missed time. Bud Dupree missed time. Yet, their run defense was still the strength of the team. It’s behind the defensive front where things got dicey. Injuries at linebacker and in the secondary, mixed with personnel problems made this the worst pass defense in the league.

On offense, they just couldn’t get it going. Ryan Tannehill was injured. Treylon Burks was in and out of the lineup, and Derrick Henry was fumbling balls after being caught from behind. Two seasons removed from being arguably the best offense in the league, and they’d fallen among the worst. A lot’s happened since then. General Manager Jon Robinson was fired. Mike Vrabel just let go offensive coordinator Todd Downing among others. Change is in the air for this franchise.

It may be an oversimplification on my part, but I still feel as though you can boil all of the failures of 2022, at least from an on-field standpoint, down to the offensive line. It was by far the weakest unit on this team. And, it was really a question mark from the jump – could Nicholas Petit-Frere step up and make an impact right away at right tackle? How would Aaron Brewer fare at left guard for a full season? What’s up with Dillon Radunz? What on Earth were they going to do for depth? On The Unofficial Titans Podcast earlier this season, I can remember Owen and I talking about how good the unit looked on paper to start the season with Taylor Lewan, Ben Jones, and Nate Davis filling those other three spots. But, it was in the back of both of our minds – this unit’s an injury away from disaster.

Well, folks – I have some news for you. There was more than one injury along the offensive line. Lewan was lost for the season early on. Jones was in and out of the lineup down the stretch. Davis finished the season on IR. It forced the Titans to play more Dennis Daley, Corey Levin, Jordan Roos, and Le’Raven Clark. Daley was an abject disaster, and drew the ire of Titans fan – I joked that no one unified this fan base quite like Daley did this season. Levin and Roos were solid given the circumstances, and could prove to be valuable depth pieces moving forward. But, the failure of this unit to really get anything going consistently, and the liability of the left side of that line had a catastrophic impact on the 2022 season.

It’s the trickle down effect – the offensive line can’t pass protect, so the Titans passing game is rendered ineffective > teams don’t respect it, so they sell out to stop the run > offense can’t generate shit, so it’s off the field quickly > you need your defense to play an absolutely spotless game every week > the dam breaks. Again…maybe an oversimplification…the Titans do need an injection of speed on offense, consistent quarterback play, and more creative and responsive play-calling. But, working with what they had, it felt like that was the formula each week for a Titans loss.

That’s why repairing the offensive line is of paramount importance this offseason to me. It had a disastrous impact on the team that effected all facets of the game. It has to be patched up, but it’s not going to be easy given how many spots they’ll likely need to fill, their cap situation, and the available talent. There’s plenty of time this offseason to get into the draft prospects and free agents, so for now, I’m just going to discuss a couple of philosophical approaches for how this team can tinker with this unit to get it at least competitive in 2023.

Best Case Scenario

First of all, this whole thing is clouded by Robinson’s firing, the offensive coaching vacancies, and Vrabel’s press conference comments about the “8-4 guys,” indicating we really don’t know who was a Vrabel guy and who was a J-Rob guy. Who is going to be a priority? And, where will they cut their losses and start anew?

The offensive line situation is further complicated by the status of Lewan. Could he restructure and return to the team at a discounted rate? Sure, but I’ve also seen people comment on how slimmed up he’s lookin’ these days, implying the man may be ready to step full bore into the media world, a place he will undoubtedly excel.

So, we have to project with what we know now – ideally, it would be great if they could bring Lewan back (and that he’d stay healthy). It would give them a known commodity at left tackle, and it would alleviate the immediate need to go spend money or draft capital to find that stud. Let’s say they’re able to talk Jones out of retiring – “give us one more bridge year, and buy us a little time.” Davis has played at an All-Pro level in the past. He was inconsistent this year, and the injury doesn’t help, but by and large, he’s demonstrated that he can handle the right guard job. If the price is right, let’s say they bring him back. NPF was inconsistent, but as far as being a rookie right tackle in the NFL, I’d say he showed enough flashes to warrant further development. We saw Davis take a major step from Year 1 to Year 2. Give NPF the same chance. Brewer has been a great story, but for a team that wants to punish defenses and run the ball at will, they have to get a bruiser. Brewer is great in a pinch, but it felt like there was at least one play in every game on which he was being flat out overpowered and pushed back. Left guard is the one position on the offensive line that I see no way around it – they have to get an upgrade.

That gets us to a starting lineup of Lewan-new LG-Jones-Davis-NPF. Some of you are probably reading that and thinking “wtf, Stoney? Blow up the offensive line by bringing pretty much the same dudes back?” Yeah, that’s kind of what I’m saying here. This is still an improved offensive line from what we saw against the Jags on Saturday night, but it’s more about the Titans buying themselves some time, and affording themselves the luxury of being able to shop for the best player available instead of filling need and getting pinned into bad value.

In this situation, they could sign a guard in free agency, and then they’d be able to get talent over need in the NFL Draft. Maybe they take the left tackle of the future in the first round? Maybe they get their impact guard there? Maybe they take next year’s starting center somewhere in the Draft? Or, hell – maybe they just draft a bunch of position-less offensive linemen and sort it all out in camp. The point is that they’d have the freedom to prioritize talent over need in this situation, and they’d have a little time to develop guys instead of throwing them into the fire. Plus, they’d still have Levin, Roos, Radunz, and maybe even Brewer as solid depth pieces and competition.

Worst Case Scenario

Robinson’s personnel failures with Daley, Kendall Lamm, Jamarco Jones, Isaiah Wilson, etc. come home to roost. Lewan doesn’t return. Jones retires. Davis gets a bigger offer elsewhere. All of a sudden, you’re stuck with an offensive line of Radunz?-???-Levin?-Roos?-NPF. That’s not ideal. Then, you’re scrambling to find starters at four positions along the offensive line this offseason.

Ultimately, like most things in life, the approach probably lies somewhere in the middle – something like 1st round pick-free agent-Jones/Levin-Roos-NPF. But, make no mistake about it – this situation is dire, and this franchise has LOADS of work to do just to get this offensive line to a better place.

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Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.

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