Tennessee Titans best move of the offseason: Rodger Saffold
By Will Lomas
The Tennessee Titans added an elite talent at a huge position of need.
In an offseason full of moves, this was clearly the most important and the one that should yield the most fruit for the Tennessee Titans.
Let’s just dive right into it because you all know that the Titans best move of the offseason was:
Sign Rodger Saffold to a 4-year/$44 million deal with $22.5 million in guarantees
The Titans options this offseason ultimately ended up boiling down to this:
-Sign Saffold
-End up drafting the top IOL available (Cody Ford who went 19 picks after where the Titans selected in the 1st round)
-Leave Quinton Spain and Josh Kline as the starting guard.
When you look at that knowing that you weren’t going to have a chance at an elite talent in the draft, this is an easy decision and an “A+” move.
Where do you start with the positives on Saffold? I guess the best place to start is scheme fit because that has been an issue in the past. Saffold took to the Los Angeles Rams offense like a fish to water, quickly becoming one of the better guards in the NFL.
Not only will this help ease his transition into this zone run/hybrid offense that we will see from Arthur Smith, but it means that he and Taylor Lewan should be able to handle their business in pass protection without much assistance.
So now you have two guys who can shut down the opposing RDE and RDT meaning that you can slide protection or give help to the right side of the offensive line. Suddenly, you aren’t so concerned about the right guard and right tackle in one on ones because they can get help from a tight end, center or a running back on nearly every play.
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Then you think about what you get out of Saffold after the ball is snapped. As a run blocker he has the width to completely cover up defensive tackles and bury linebackers at the next level. The difference between him and other big, athletic guards is that he has the understanding to know when it is time to move to the second level and when he needs to hold a block on a DT a little longer to give Lewan or Jones an extra split second to come over and take that block.
In pass protection, there are times when Saffold loses the leverage battle but he is pretty quick to reset his anchor and he rarely loses the same way twice in a game. That should be key in keeping the pocket clean for Marcus Mariota.
The Titans now have three positions on the offensive line where they should range from good to great: LT, LG and RT depending on who wins that battle.
If they can get Ben Jones to play like he did two years ago and find someone to be above average at right guard then suddenly this offensive line goes from being a problem to a strength.
You really can’t overstate how good of a move this is for the Titans and how much (at least on paper) this should help the offense as a whole.
This should create more space for Derrick Henry to run and keep Marcus Mariota upright and healthy. If those two things happen the Titans are a playoff team without a doubt, and if this move achieves those goals then it will be one of the best moves by any team in the league.