Questions remain for Titans' offensive line as season nears

Peter Skoronski

The Titans’ biggest positional question mark heading into training camp — the offensive line — remains an area of uncertainty as the team gets ready for its regular-season opener in New Orleans on Sept. 10.

That doesn’t mean there’s cause for panic.

In a small sample size, the Titans’ first-team unit — left tackle Andre Dillard, left guard Peter Skoronski, center Aaron Brewer, right guard Daniel Brunskill and right tackle Chris Hubbard — wasn’t responsible for any sacks allowed during the preseason, per Pro Football Focus.

Hubbard did allow four pressures in 21 pass-blocking attempts, which is as many as the other four combined to surrender.

Maybe most importantly, Dillard, stepping in at one of the most important positions on the team, posted the starting five’s top PFF pass-blocking grade in the preseason at 78.3. He allowed just two pressures in 33 pass-blocking snaps. That has to be at least some relief, considering the Titans gambled a bit in signing him to a three-year, $29-million deal despite the fact he played just 37 offensive snaps in 2022.

Titans coach Mike Vrabel said Dillard’s lack of playing time last year factored into the four-year veteran playing longer in Friday’s preseason win over New England than any of the other starters. Dillard got 40 snaps before leaving midway through the third quarter, compared to 26 for Skoronski and Brewer, 10 for Brunskill (who left early with a knee injury) and 17 for Hubbard.

Another plus for the offensive line is the fact Skoronski, the Titans’ first-round pick in April, has made a relatively smooth transition from tackle to guard. He’s allowed just one pressure in 26 pass-blocking snaps and posted an overall PFF offensive grade of 70.4 in the preseason, second behind Dillard (72.4).

But the play of the first-team offensive line as a group — especially in the run game — didn’t inspire confidence Friday, when it failed to impose its will on Patriots reserves early in the contest.

The Titans’ initial eight runs gained a total of minus-one yard, a big reason the team produced just three first downs on its first four drives.

Things were especially grim on the Titans’ third series, which started at the New England 5-yard line following a turnover. Julius Chestnut took a four-yard loss on first down and was held to no gain on second down, as the Titans eventually settled for Michael Badgley’s 27-yard field goal.

“I just think we started way too slow, just too many breakdowns, too many guys not on the same page,” Skoronski said. “Obviously that’s unacceptable right now. As Coach Vrabes said, we’re not going to be able to come back from slow starts sometimes. We can’t have that happen. We just have to be better, be on the same page and hit the ground running once we get out there. We can’t take three or four drives to start moving the ball.”

It doesn’t appear likely the starting five will change between now and the opener.

The only possibility might come at right tackle, where Justin Murray has been pushing Hubbard in a battle to hold down the spot for Nicholas Petit-Frere, who is expected to return as starter Oct. 29 following his six-game NFL suspension for gambling violations.

All in all, things could be worse for the Titans at offensive line, given the number of departed starters — Taylor Lewan, Ben Jones and Nate Davis from last year — as well as Petit-Frere’s suspension.

But plenty of work still lies ahead.

“That entire group, there's just too much inconsistency,” Vrabel said. “Some of the stuff that I think we should be able to nail, no matter what it is—we’ve been running it since May — we’ve got to be able to get going, block it better ... I would just say that group in general, like we have to have a great week [of practice].”