Pro Football Focus released its annual offensive line rankings ahead of the season, and the Tennessee Titans landed in the middle of the pack for 2020.
More specifically, PFF’s Steve Palazzolo placed the Titans at No. 15, while also citing his concern about the right side, which will feature Nate Davis at right guard and either Dennis Kelly or rookie Isaiah Wilson at right tackle.
Three-fifths of the Tennessee offensive line features established starters, while the right side comes with plenty of question marks. The Titans have a potentially volatile group up front but with hopes of ranking in the top 10 once again.
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The only team in the AFC South to rank better than the Titans was the Indianapolis Colts, who topped the list at No. 1.
While there are no doubt questions about the right side after Jack Conklin’s departure, there are certainly reasons for optimism, also.
As far as the competition between Kelly and Wilson goes at right tackle, the edge goes to the veteran thanks to his experience and an abbreviated offseason that might slow Wilson’s development.
Despite technically being a new starter, Kelly allows the Titans to keep continuity upfront with his experience playing with the other four returning starters. And, Kelly did such a good job filling in for an injured Conklin in 2018 that some believed he could take Conklin’s job in 2019.
It’s no surprise Davis got off to a slow start and was a mess for much of his first season — particularly in pass protection — after missing all of training camp, the preseason, and the first three games of the regular season.
With that said, Davis rebounded nicely near the end of the campaign. He improved from an overall PFF grade of 30.1 through Week 14 to 71.5 from Week 15 on.
Combined with Jones, who was sensational all of last season and graded out as an elite center, and Lewan and Saffold, both of whom rebounded strong after slow starts, the Titans have the potential to sport one of the best offensive lines in the league in 2020.
Of course, that will depend on the performance of whoever starts at right tackle and the continued development of Davis.
However, when PFF re-ranks these groups at the end of the 2020 campaign, I’d expect the Titans’ unit to at least crack the top 10, much like it did in PFF’s end of season offensive line rankings from 2019.
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