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Titans Need to Make a Deal as Internal Options at RT Fall Short of George Fant

The Tennessee Titans did not come to an agreement with either of the veteran offensive tackles they worked out this weekend, but a signing still needs to happen as the internal options at right tackle are less than appetizing.
Tyler Rowland|
Titans Need to Make a Deal as Internal Options at RT Fall Short of George Fant
Titans Need to Make a Deal as Internal Options at RT Fall Short of George Fant

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Tennessee Titans

NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Titans worked out two veteran tackles over the weekend in George Fant and Chris Hubbard, but neither came to a deal with the Tennessee Titans. Despite that, the Titans must find a way to get a deal done, specifically with Fant, to avoid the potential options available if they fail to.

Let's go over some of the internal options and the major issue with each.

Peter Skoronski

The first-round pick appears to be a versatile offensive lineman who you can be an excellent guard and provide value at tackle, if needed. While that should be true of Skoronski, it may not be best to test it in his opening season in the NFL. 

Also worth mentioning that Skoronski only played on the left side in college. Now you'd be asking the rookie to learn another position after working primarily at left guard in the summer and switch to a side he hasn't played in at least four seasons.

 Allowing Skoronski to hone in at guard and get used to the game could be the best path for the Titans and the rookie. It also allows you to only let one position downgrade instead of two. If Fant is signed, it may not be a downgrade at all.

Bringing in Jamarco Jones or moving Aaron Brewer to left guard while moving Skoronski to right tackle hurts the Titans twice, at minimum. Brewer moving also requires Corey Levin to enter the lineup, downgrading you three times potentially.

Jaelyn Duncan

Duncan was selected in the sixth-round of this year's NFL draft after being seen as a top-100 talent by most evaluators. After the pick there were some comments about Duncan's want-to and finish on the field. Duncan has all the natural tools, but needs some coaching.

That doesn't sound like a player you want to throw into the starting lineup of a team with Derrick Henry, Ryan Tannehill and DeAndre Hopkins. The Titans are in win-now mode officially and rolling out Duncan as a starter for the first six games of the season is a contradiction to that mode.

Duncan may very well turn into a good tackle for the Titans, but the odds of it happening right away are slim. While it would be like found money for the Titans after the issues they've had with other young tackles like Isaiah Wilson, Dillon Radunz and Nicholas Petit-Frere, it still isn't something this team can afford to bank on.

Daniel Brunskill/Jamarco Jones

Another options you see discussed in the Titans ecosystem is moving one of the Titans' veteran guard options to tackle like Brunskill or Jones. Like the Skoronski option, that creates a domino effect that could hurt the Titans far worse than we think.

Brunskill has played 310 snaps in his career at right tackle, but when you see his career 2,097 snaps at right guard and add in the fact that the Titans have Brunskill currently slated as their starting right guard, it makes it clear Brunskill is a far better player on the inside of the line.

This would also move Jones into the lineup. Jones didn't play last year after getting injured in training camp. He played his first three seasons in Seattle before coming to Tennessee. In those three season, Jones never had an overall grade on Pro Football Focus over 56.9 and even then, he played the majority of his snaps on the left side of the offensive line.

There are no great options currently on the Titans' roster. After bringing in DeAndre Hopkins and getting Kevin Byard to move his money around to create flexibility, the Titans owe it to their veterans to get the best option possible. That is clearly George Fant.

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Tyler Rowland
TYLER ROWLAND

Tyler Rowland is a Tennessee Titans fanatic for nearly 25 years and the host of the Locked On Titans podcast. While diving into all things Tennessee Titans, Tyler specializes in film study and providing grounded opinions on all of the latest Titans news.

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