Tennessee Titans connected to 4 of the best guards of all time

The Tennessee Titans have a rich connection to elite guards.

Elite is a word thrown around too often, but when your name shows up in the top-20 of an All-Time list you have earned it.

There may be no man on Earth who can argue his rankings of an All-Time list like Gil Brandt.

The “Godfather” of scouting and of the NFL Draft, Brandt has seen and heard more in his time in the NFL than the rest of us combined.

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So if he says someone from the 70s was a top-5 guard I believe him, because I know he watched him. Not only that, but he probably had to scout him and game plan against him.

Brandt has been putting together lists of his All-Time top-30 players at each position group. Today he did guards.

I was shocked to find that the Tennessee Titans had connections to four guys in the top-20. The simple math tells me that is 20%.

That seems noteworthy to me, so I decided to write a post on it and give those guys a shoutout.

17. Russ Grimm

Accolades:
» Three-time Super Bowl champion
» Voted to four Pro Bowls, First Team All-Pro three times
» Started 114 of 140 NFL games
» Enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame

You can say anything you want about him not playing for the Tennessee Titans, but there is no person on this list who has had more of an impact on the Titans team you saw last year than Grimm.

As an offensive line coach, he has had some ups and downs. However, it is clear that he has found his stride in Tennessee where his coaching, the identity Mike Mularkey is trying to cultivate and Jon Robinson’s talent acquisition have come together beautifully.

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15. Steve Hutchinson

Accolades:
» NFL 2000s All-Decade Team
» Voted to seven Pro Bowls, First Team All-Pro five times
» Started 169 of 169 NFL games

Hutchinson wasn’t a Tennessee Titans guard for long, but he stuck around the team after his retirement. He spent some time working in a front office capacity, learning the business side of the league.

In his time, he was one of the most athletic, powerful and fun guards to watch. He was one of the first offensive linemen I knew by name growing up. I wish he could have played with the team when they were more successful so that he could have added some impressive wins to his resume.

6. Mike Munchak

Accolades:

» Voted to 9 Pro Bowls, First Team All-Pro two times
» Started 156 of 159 NFL games
» Enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame

He was a stud as a player and just as good as an offensive line coach. I think we can all agree that he was a victim of his own success.

He may go down as the best offensive line coach of all time, and his work with Tennessee in that regard was truly impressive. Unfortunately, there are going to be some hard feelings because of the way the team went downhill once he took over as head coach.

Not only that, but him leaving for the Steelers also burns a little bit. There is nothing I would like more as a Titans fan than to see him really fall in love with scouting and take a role as a OL scout/quality control coach with the Tennessee Titans somewhere down the road.

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3. Bruce Matthews

Accolades:

» Voted to 14 Pro Bowls, First Team All-Pro seven times
» Started 293 of 296 NFL games
» Enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame

To me, he is the best that ever did it. He could play guard, center, tackle, and he could have probably played tight end or running back in a pinch too. You always knew you could depend on him to do everything at a high level.

His 7 1st team All-Pro selections tie him for 4th most among NFL players ever. To put that in perspective, no active player has that many. In fact, only 6 other players have accomplished this that played in this millennium: Jerry Rice, Randall McDaniel, Peyton Manning, Ray Lewis, Reggie White, and Bruce Smith.

That is rarefied air.

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