No Question O-Line Answers Remain Elusive

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Titans’ neediest position group in the days leading up to the NFL Draft was the offensive line.

They had parted ways with two of five starters – left guard Rodger Saffold and right tackle David Quessenberry – and there weren’t absolute certainties on the roster to replace them.

That led to many forecasts of an offensive lineman for the Titans in the first round last Thursday.

Everything changed, however, following Thursday’s trade of A.J. Brown to Philadelphia, a move that necessitated the selection of wide receiver Treylon Burks with the No. 18 pick.

Tennessee did address the offensive line when it chose Ohio State tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere in the third round. But it’s still fair to say there are questions about what the starting five will look like when the 2022 season kicks off.

That uncertainty was reflected in the post-draft positional rankings of ESPN’s Mike Clay, who ranked the Titans’ offensive line 23rd out of 32 teams. On a scale of 0-to-4, Clay gave the Titans a 1.3. It was the second-lowest grade of any position group on the offense. Only the wide receivers, at 0.9, had a lower rating.

In that light, let’s look at three key questions surrounding the Titans’ offensive line?

1. Is Petit-Frere an immediate starter?

It’s clear from where the Titans selected him – 69th overall – that Petit-Frere is expected at some point to become a starter. The Titans would love to see him be a plug-and-play at right tackle, eliminating any lingering concerns at that position. But is it fair to assume he’ll be ready to start immediately, based on his college resume and the scouting reports?

Almost every analysis of Petit-Frere’s game referred to a high upside for the 6-foot-5, 316-pounder, but also of a need for improvement in his game as he transitioned to the NFL level. Here are four examples:

• The Athletic’s Dane Brugler wrote that “Petit-Frere is a projection because of the development still required in his game, but he has the size, quickness and big-man twitch that NFL coaches covet. He has the talent to grow into an NFL starter for a patient coaching staff.”

• NFL.com’s Chad Reuter wrote that Petit-Frere is a “talented, athletic left tackle prospect who needs more time to develop before he's ready for next-level edge attacks. Petit-Frere possesses clutch strength and mirror quickness in pass pro but is soft on his edges, which will be identified and attacked until his play strength and hand-fighting improve.”

• Pro Football Focus wrote “the Titans have needs along the offensive line, and this is a gamble that they can coach Petit-Frere to reach his full potential.”

• CBS Sports wrote: “Upside is there because of his frame and athleticism but needs refinement.”

How quickly Petit-Frere improves will dictate when he takes his place among the starters.

2. Does Dillon Radunz have a home now?

If Titans fans were hoping the drafting of Petit-Frere would lead to a more definitive role Radunz, the team’s second-round pick in 2021, they were left disappointed.

“I don't think we're going to go into projections,” coach Mike Vrabel said after the draft. “We're going to start next week with the guys that will be here with a lot of individual work because that's what the rules are, and I think it's great. I would advocate for as much Phase Two work as we could possibly get because that's where you improve. That's where you make strides.”

As we know, Radunz was drafted as a right tackle but wound up getting a lot of practice reps at both guard and tackle during his rookie season. He had a solid outing in his lone start – at left tackle – against San Francisco last season, but Radunz played only nine offensive snaps over the Titans’ last three games. He was inactive for the lone playoff contest, deemed of less value than the starters as well as Aaron Brewer, Kendall Lamm and Corey Levin.

If Radunz had really shown a lot of potential at either guard or tackle, he would be locked in at that position. But the fact the team has yet to narrow his focus may mean the Titans believe Radunz – at this point – is simply a hard-working and versatile reserve lineman. We’ll see if a full offseason and training camp changes that.

In the meantime, there just doesn’t seem to be enough evidence yet to suggest Radunz will be starting on opening day of the 2022 season, at guard or tackle.

3. Do the Titans still need veteran help?

The fact they still don’t have definitive starters at left guard or right tackle makes it awfully risky to not pick up at least one more veteran between now and the start of training camp. Maybe they add a proven veteran at one of the two spots, and set up a competition at the other.

There are some free agents to watch. Among them:

• Former Bills tackle Daryl Williams (6-6, 330 pounds) started all 33 of Buffalo’s regular-season games over the past two seasons, but the 29 year-old was a salary-cap casualty prior to free agency.

• Former Washington guard Ereck Flowers (6-6, 330 pounds) has started 101 games over seven years in the league – including 46 over the last three years – and also has some experience at tackle. Like Williams, the 28 year-old Flowers was a cap casualty this offseason.

• There’s also guard Nate Herbig (6-6, 334 pounds), recently released by the Eagles after starting a combined 17 games over the past two seasons.

It’s entirely possible, though, that more veterans become available as the offseason continues – some because new draftees make them expendable, some because teams will be looking to open up cap space themselves.

Keep in mind that the Titans – who are right up against the salary-cap ceiling now – will clear $9.5 million in cap space at the start of June when Julio Jones’ release becomes official. Some of that money, of course, is ticketed for signing the team’s draft picks.

So, should we expect more shopping to be done by the Titans?

“We'll certainly take stock of the players that are out there in the post-draft, the players that are out there in the veteran world who kind of. … Those guys are kind of waiting until after the draft to see how the draft falls,” general manager Jon Robinson said. “Then they kind of settle into homes potentially. We'll look at all that and see if there are guys that could improve and help us. As I said earlier, what are the financial implications of maybe adding one of those guys?”