You could make a strong argument that the Tennessee Titans’ offensive line is the biggest wild card on the entire team. Anybody that says they know what they’re getting out of that particular position group is lying.
We can make maybe predictions on how we think the players will perform as individuals, but there really is no telling how the Titans’ revamped O-line will function as a unit once the bullets become live.
To make matters worse, coming into the season, Tennessee only had one starting offensive lineman, Nicholas Petit-Frere, who was returning to the same spot that he started all of last year.
Unfortunately, even Petit-Frere won’t be there to start the year after he was suspended for the first six games of the season for a gambling violation.
This means Tennessee will enter Week 1 not having a single lineman returning to their spot from the year before.
Technically, Aaron Brewer is still in the starting lineup, but he will now be playing center for the first time in his professional career, so even he is a complete mystery at the moment.
When you consider all of those reasons we just discussed, it’s easy to figure out why many are taking a wait-and-see approach before they buy any stock into Tennessee’s revamped offensive line.
Ben Baldwin of nflfastR clearly falls into that category. After taking a look at each team’s “pass protection expectations” going into 2023, he has the Titans ranked No. 31 overall with a PEPA of -0.001.
Here is my best data-driven guess at how good each team's offensive line might be expected to be in pass protection given its 5 projected starters pic.twitter.com/qaKAfD9Q3k
— Computer Cowboy (@benbbaldwin) July 26, 2023
For context, PEPA represents predicted EPA (Expected Points Added) based on pass protection grades at each position.
When looking closer at the chart, Baldwin doesn’t have a single Titans offensive lineman topping a score of 62, even declaring that Tennessee’s center-right guard duo is only good enough for a combined score of 13.
However, there is a caveat here: the starters these numbers are based on are going off the projected depth chart from Ourlads.com, which has Jordan Roos at right guard and Daniel Brunskill at right tackle.
In reality, Roos may not even make the roster, let alone grab a starting spot. Meanwhile, Brunskill is expected to start at right guard, not right tackle.
Sadly, having Brunskill at right guard and plugging in Jamarco Jones, who is currently the favorite for right tackle, or Chris Hubbard for this exercise is unlikely to move the needle all that much.
Regardless, it’s fair to say that Tennessee’s offensive line must earn respect, something it won’t be able to do until we see good things on the football field.
[lawrence-auto-related count=5]