One of the biggest concerns for the Tennessee Titans going into Week 1 was its offensive line, which was featuring four new starters, and five if you want to count Aaron Brewer moving to center.
While the group upfront got off to a shaky start, and especially at left tackle where Andre Dillard was getting bullied early on, things settled down as the game progressed and the unit put together a good showing.
According to ESPN and Next Gen Stats, the Titans’ offensive line posted the fifth-best pass-block win rate in the NFL in Week 1, coming in at 67 percent. And, a 75-percent run-block win rate ranked third in the league.
Right tackle Chris Hubbard was arguably the biggest standout of the group, with the veteran posting a 100-percent pass-block win rate, tied for tops in the NFL among tackles.
Bear in mind, Hubbard accomplished this feat while getting a steady dose of the New Orleans Saints’ best pass-rusher, Cameron Jordan.
In addition to Hubbard shining in pass protection, Dillard and Brewer both did their thing in the run game, ranking ninth in run-block win rate (84%) among tackles and interior offensive linemen, respectively.
Guards Peter Skoronski and Daniel Brunskill were good, also, with both allowing one pressure each, although Skoronski’s turned into a sack.
Skoronski posted an overall Pro Football Focus grade of 81.3, which was the third-best among first-round rookies in Week 1, and he had solid grades in pass-blocking (74.2) and run-blocking (80.1).
Meanwhile, Brunskill posted a 76.2 and 72.0 in pass-blocking and run-blocking, respectively, both second-best on the team.
There are certainly things for this unit to clean up moving forward, but I’m not sure we could’ve hoped for much better than what the offensive line produced in Week 1.
The offensive line will have an even tougher test in Week 2 with Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack and the Los Angeles Chargers coming to town.
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