Where does the Titans OL stand vs the rest of the division?
Over the last three drafts the Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Indianapolis Colts have used six 1st or 2nd round picks on the offensive line.
Offensive linemen aren’t household names most of the time, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a great team that didn’t have a very good offensive line.
Generally, the best offensive lines end up being the best teams at the end of the season. According to the offensive line rankings from PFF, the Cowboys were the only team in 2019 to have a top-5 o-line and not make the playoffs.
Having a stout five-man crew up front is especially important for run-first teams like the Titans. Derrick Henry is amazing, but he can’t do it alone. Thankfully for him, the Titans had one of the best run-blocking units in the league last year.
The Texans handed LT Laremy Tunsil a massive extension, and keep most of their unit together in 2020.
The Colts have arguably the best line in the league, and also kept their core together for at least one more season.
The Jaguars are the biggest question mark in this division, but the Titans, Colts, and Texans are in much better positions with their offensive lines’ than they were a few years ago.
Whichever team ends up winning the AFC South this year, it will undoubtedly be aided by the play of their offensive line. With that being said, let’s rank the AFC South teams, from worst to best, regarding their offensive line.
4. Jacksonville Jaguars
Projected Starters:
LT: Cam Robinson
LG: Andrew Norwell
C: Brandon Linder
RG: AJ Cann
RT: Jawaan Taylor
The Jags, without a question, have the weakest line in the division.
Barring something unforeseen, they look ready to trot out the same group as last year.
In 2019, Brandon Linder was the only player in the group to get positive marks. Every other starting lineman on the team got a 65 or lower grade from pff.
Tyler Shatley, Will Richardson, and rookie fourth-rounder Ben Bartch headline the reserves up front.
The Jags were a middle-of-the-pack rated pass blocking team last year, but one of the worst-rated run-blocking teams in the league.
I don’t see any way that changes this year. This is by no means the worst line in the league, but it is the worst in the division. I expect the Jags’ offense to struggle again in 2020.
Leonard Fournette probably won’t be getting happier anytime soon. And if the Jaguars don’t manage to win some games or improve on the line, it might not be crazy for Trevor Lawrence to make it known that he doesn’t want to go to a team that is going to get him killed.
3. Houston Texans
Projected Starters:
LT: Laremy Tunsil
LG: Max Scharping
C: Nick Martin
RG: Zach Fulton
RT: Tytus Howard
Trading for a star left tackle will do wonders for a line.
Before adding Tunsil, the Texans had one of the worst LT situations in the league. Now that problem is fixed, but the rest of the line still needs work.
Zach Fulton was awful in pass protection last year, contributing to the Texans’ lowly, 27th- ranked pass-blocking unit in 2019. No doubt a barometer to gauge the Texans’ success in 2020 will be how often Deshaun Watson is on his back.
It will be interesting to see how former first-rounder Tytus Howard handles being the full-time starter at RT in 2020. In limited sample size as a rookie, he struggled mightily, before gradually getting better as the season wore on.
The left side of this line is much better than the right side, but that’s expected when you have Laremy Tunsil on your team. I give the Texans the edge over the Jaguars, due solely to the presence of Laremy Tunsil. If Tytus Howard lives up to his draft stock, this line could be sneakily efficient.
2. Tennessee Titans
Projected Starters:
LT: Taylor Lewan
LG: Rodger Saffold
C: Ben Jones
RG: Nate Davis
RT: Dennis Kelly
Other than losing Right Tackle Jack Conklin to the Browns, this Titans group remains the same.
Luckily for the Titans, Dennis Kelly has plenty of experience starting and seems more than capable of stepping up. The Titans also used their 2020 1st-round pick on Isaiah Wilson from Georgia, who profiles as the right tackle of the future.
With Kelly and Wilson, the Titans seem to be in good shape, even after losing an All-Pro caliber player in Conklin.
Right guard is a position of concern potentially, as 1st-rounder Nate Davis struggled mightily in pass protection during his rookie season.
Behind the five starters and Wilson, the Titans have Jamil Douglas and Ty Sambrailo, who both have starting experience.
This is a solid line, one that PFF graded a Top 10 unit in 2019, and should perform just as good or better in 2020.
It’s worth noting, the line looked much improved after Ryan Tannehill took over as the starting QB. With Tannehill behind center for a full year, I expect this line to mesh well.
1. Indianapolis Colts
Projected Starters:
LT: Anthony Castonzo
LG: Quenton Nelson
C: Ryan Kelly
RG: Mark Glowinski
RT: Braden Smith
It’s pretty impressive when one division has 2 teams with Top-10 offensive lines.
According to PFF, the Titans had the 8th-ranked line, while the Colts had the 3rd.
Castonzo has been a solid blindside blocker for years, and Nelson is the best run-blocker in the league. In fact, all five of the Colts’ starters played over 1,000 snaps last season, which is an impressive feat for linemen.
Behind the starters, the Colts have tackle Le’Raven Clark and rookie guard Danny Pinter. This should set up to be the best line Philip Rivers has ever played behind. If Rivers can stay upright, I think the Colts will be the Titans’ biggest challenger for the AFC South crown.
The right side of the line is weaker than the left, but the Colts still have the experience and depth to clearly stand out as the best offensive line group in the division.