Offensive Line Keeps Getting Older
NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Titans’ offensive line has not changed much in recent years. Not in terms of personnel, at least.
As it stands right now, Dennis Kelly is set to replace Jack Conklin at right tackle in 2020. The 6-foot-8, 321-pound Kelly, who agreed to a three-year, $21 million contract extension Monday, is hardly a newcomer. He has been the Titans’ primary backup at both tackle spots for the past four seasons.
The other four starters remain unchanged. Two of those four – left tackle Taylor Lewan and center Ben Jones – have played together since 2016.
That consistency creates one notable difference. The Titans’ starting offensive line continues to age, and the 2020 version will be the oldest in quite some time.
Barring some unexpected or unwanted development, the average age of those five players will be 29.0 at the start of September. That’s an increase of nearly two years over the same time at 2019, when Conklin, who is four years younger than Kelly, was in place and the other four were all a year younger.
Kelly, Jones and left guard Rodger Saffold all will be in their 30s with Saffold, who will turn 32 during the offseason, as the elder statesman. Lewan at 29 (he will hit that number around the start of training camp) is not far off.
“It’s exciting to know that there’s going to be a lot of chemistry with this offense,” Kelly said. “With the way that we were running that second half of the season last year and into the playoffs, we were running like a pretty well-oiled machine. To be able to keep a lot of that chemistry is going to be really, really vital.
“You look at – using the Coronavirus, there might not be as much time in the offseason to build up that chemistry. So, it’s really, really good for Tennessee that we have a lot of guys coming back.”
Ever since Jon Robinson became general manager in 2016, the average age of the primary starters on the offensive line has increased. It was 25.0 in his first season, which was up from 24.0 the previous year. Then, Jones – at 27 – was the senior member of the starting blockers.
The same five – Lewan, Jones, Conklin, left guard Quinton Spain and right guard Josh Kline – remained unchanged from 2016-18 and aged together. The arrivals of Saffold, a veteran free agent, and Davis, a third-round draft pick, last year produced a small gain, from 27.0 in 2018 to 27.2 in 2019.
Now comes a big jump.
Consider that Hall of Famer Bruce Matthews was 40 years old when he started his final season. That year (2001) he was part of an offensive line that included 30-year-old left tackle Brad Hopkins, 28-year-old right tackle Fred Miller and no one under 25. The average age of that starting five was 29.8.
“You always hear people talking about how the offensive line is all about chemistry and getting used to playing with each other,” Kelly said. “As cliché as it sounds, that’s really the case. … It’s a great room in that building, the relationships in that offensive line room. It’s a really strong bond between everyone. When you really – not just as a teammate, but as a friend care about the person next to you, you’re going to play harder for them.”
And, in this case, you’re going to grow older – or at least older – together.
