Titans First Round Options: Peter Skoronski

Stoney Keeley breaks down the game of Northwestern offensive lineman Peter Skoronski on the latest run of Titans First Round Options.

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The 2023 NFL Draft takes place April 27-29 this year, emanating LIVE from Kansas City, Missouri. As it stands, the Tennessee Titans have one first round draft pick. New general manager Ran Carthon and head coach Mike Vrabel currently hold the 11th overall selection. Over the next couple of months, I’ll be taking a look at some of the prospects who are either rumored to be tied to, have met with, who make sense for the Titans, or who are for some reason being mocked to the Titans even though they don’t really have a need at the position. Whatever – there are no rules here. Today, we’re lookin’ at Northwestern offensive tackle Peter Skoronski.

What is Peter Skoronski? Does anyone truly know? If you pay attention to the scouting world, you might think he has some teeny wittle baby arms the way people act like he can’t possibly play left tackle in the NFL. But, he’s got some damn good left tackle tape. So, what’ll it be? Regardless, he’s probably the guy I’ve seen mocked to the Titans the longest and most consistently. Since people learned Skoronski’s name, they’ve been mocking him to the Titans.

Skoronski won the Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year award in 2022, a season during which he was also named unanimous All-American. He’s been voted First-Team All-Big-Ten for each of the last two seasons. And, I’ll you what , folks – If they awarded the Heisman to who was truly the best player in college football, Skoronski would’ve at least been a finalist. This man has a PEDIGREE in football, and he plays with sound fundamentals. That’s the name of his game.

He’s sticky when engaged in his block, and you’re just not going to move the guy when he gets set on you. He’s good at getting into his pass sets and holding position. He’s great at diagnosing pressure and being prepared for it. When plays break down, he’s aware of defenders and at the very least, gets in their way (though I wouldn’t say he’s got elite recovery speed if he is beat inside). He’s great in tests of strengths when guys want to go one on one and drive him back – no sir! Not Peter fucking Skoronski!

I don’t think he’s as explosive as some analysts seem to think. I want to see a little more punch out of his play. He chases blocks more so than dictating them at the second level, and I noticed he seemed to struggle with lateral quickness from rangy edge rushers squirting around him. He whiffed a couple of blocks in the Ohio State game because of this. So, I can definitely see why people might project him at guard, and it’s way too easy to just say it’s because of the arms. But, I do think he’ll have a fair shake at playing tackle, and why not? It’s a premium position in a draft class that doesn’t have a lot of surefire premium starters. There’s Paris Johnson Jr. and everyone else….there are about 10 dudes who could be OT4 in this draft class.

To me, it’s not about his arms. He proved he can play tackle with those teeny wittle baby arms. I see him as a bit of a stiff mover. There’s an element of ‘fee fi fo fum’ to his recovery speed when he’s beat. There’s a potential problem with him handling explosive edge rushers consistently, and that strikes me as one of those issues that could be exacerbated wildly at the next level. But, if that is the case, then shit…you just kick him inside to guard, and you’ve got a hoss. That’s how I’d play it out with him, anyway. All in all, I see a polished, versatile offensive lineman with whom I have the slightest of functional athleticism concerns.

Vrabel talked about versatility and physicality, and Skoronski is definitely that. I don’t know that he’s ultimately the left tackle for the next 10 years, and that’s what the Titans need right now. That’s what makes Skoronski a bit of a risk in my book. If he does end up being a guard, well, that’s some real draft capital invested in a guard and you’re still down the left tackle of the future. But, hey – they invested an early pick on a guard in 2013, and that guy won a Super Bowl (with the Eagles in 2017)!!! At the time of this writing, Skoronski is currently my OT2 and OG1 in this draft class.

Further Reading: “It’s pretty irrelevant”: Peter Skoronski not letting size measurements define his NFL potential

Disclaimer: I don’t necessarily agree with 100% of the analysis in each video I share throughout this series, but comparatively speaking, I want to give you guys a place to study deeper if you want to and will do my best to find you analysis that is at the very least thoughtful. I’m not the only person with an opinion on the internet, after all.

2023 TITANS FIRST ROUND OPTIONS

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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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