One of the most important positional battles to watch in Tennessee Titans training camp is at the right tackle spot, where 2021 second-round pick, Dillon Radunz, is one of the competitors for the starting role.
Radunz is up against veterans Kendall Lamm and Ty Sambrailo for the job, and this competition will ramp-up on Tuesday, as Tennessee’s players strap on the pads for the first time.
According to Jim Wyatt of Titans Online, Radunz says everything is “going pretty well” so far, and he has been learning from left tackle Taylor Lewan and offensive line coach Keith Carter.
“It’s going pretty well, just learning every day, learning the offense, learning the technique from the older guys,” Radunz said. “Learning from Taylor (Lewan), coach (Keith) Carter. It’s been fun just to be able to get out here and play football again.”
Because of the impacts of COVID-19, Radunz’s alma mater, North Dakota State, only played one game during the 2020 college football campaign.
One of the things Radunz has noticed in his transition to the NFL is that players are quicker than they were in college.
“The guys are definitely a little quicker in the NFL compared to FCS, so just learning and getting my feet in the ground a little bit quicker, using my hands a little bit quicker than usual; that’s normally what I’m going to have to get used to,” Radunz explained.
The former Bison tackle is trying to show his teammates and coaches that he’s ready and willing to work hard in order to earn their trust.
“Prove to myself, prove to my teammates that I’m here, I’m willing to work for them so that they can put their trust in me, and then that the coaching staff can put their trust in me,” said the rookie. “So, it’s all a prove-it week for me… get better everyday and learn a lot from these guys.”
Expectations are high for Tennessee this coming season, especially after the acquisition of Julio Jones, but the same can be said for Radunz, who is tabbed to win the right tackle job by many, including yours truly.
While he certainly doesn’t mind the expectations, Radunz is just focused on making progress towards the goals he has set out for himself.
“Outside expectations are cool, so it’s a blessing to be in the situation that I’m in, but ultimately you can’t put those on yourself. You have goals for yourself and as long as you’re working to get one percent better every single day towards those goals – everything doesn’t always happen as planned – so as long as you’re working towards those goals, getting better every single day and you see the progress and you’re working towards the progress, I think that’s all that really matters.”
6️⃣0️⃣ seconds with second-round pick @DillonRadunz at @Titans camp. pic.twitter.com/xjeHzE5wys
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) August 2, 2021
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