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The Tennessee Titans found themselves a diamond in the rough when they signed defensive lineman Teair Tart as an undrafted free agent in 2020.
Since then, Tart has worked his way up the depth chart to a starting role next to Jeffery Simmons and Denico Autry, and the trio have made up one of the best defensive line groups in the NFL in recent years.
As good as Tart has been as a run defender, the 26-year-old could get better at rushing the passer, something defensive line coach Terrell Williams mentioned at practice last week.
“He started to take those steps (to becoming a better pass-rusher) towards the middle of last season,” Williams said, per Easton Freeze of Broadway Sports Media.
“You’ve got three types of players: you’ve got a player who’s great at playing the run, you’ve got a player who’s great in the pass-rush, and then you’ve got players that are great at both. And his job now is to become great at both. I would put him up against anybody in the run game, now it’s just getting better from a pass-rush standpoint.”
On top of a career-high 1.5 sacks, Tart posted personal bests in pressures (26) and QB hits (seven) in 2022. Granted, he did play in five more contests than the year prior, but the pressures were five times what he totaled in 2021.
Tart has been on the field for 47 percent of snaps in each of the last two seasons, but Williams hinted more could be in store for Tart if he can improve at getting after the quarterback.
“There’s always room for good pass-rushers, trust me,” the Titans’ assistant head coach said, per Paul Kuharsky. “We have packages where we can put more than just Jeff (Simmons) and Denico (Autry) out there, so if you can pass-rush we’ll find a way to get you on the field.”
Simmons and Autry are already two of the more feared interior rushers in the NFL. If Tart can even supplement those two with some pass-rush success of his own, this Titans front will be even scarier than it’s already projected to be.