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Titans can prove they made the right decision on Jack Conklin in free agency

By Will Lomas

Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Jack Conklin (78) reacts during the fourth quarter of the 14-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills at Nissan Stadium Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019 in Nashville, Tenn.Gw49627
Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Jack Conklin (78) reacts during the fourth quarter of the 14-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills at Nissan Stadium Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019 in Nashville, Tenn.Gw49627 /
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Nov 12, 2020; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Dennis Kelly (71) and Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle Denico Autry (96) exchange words after a play during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 12, 2020; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Dennis Kelly (71) and Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle Denico Autry (96) exchange words after a play during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /

The Undertaker

When this happened I was fully on the “This is a bad decision” side of the argument because we have seen offensive lines in the past that just take one missing piece to crumble. You also have to remember the context of how Conklin left.

The Titans were coming off of a playoff run where they dominated by running the ball and it finally looked like rookie right guard Nate Davis was getting his feet underneath him. Keith Carter had proven to be ineffective (at best) and was the only offensive line coach that I have ever seen that allowed 20 sacks combined in two games within a season of each other, without getting fired.

I have always liked Dennis Kelly, but in my mind, this was a move that hurt the right tackle spot and the right guard spot. At the time, my opinion was Conklin was worth the money given his age and talent, but all we could do is wait and see how it played out.

Turns out, Dennis Kelly has been rock solid at the right tackle position and has looked every bit as effective as Jack Conklin has this season. They are different, with Kelly’s length and quickness giving him a different play style than Conklin’s technique and power, but the results have been great.

The chemistry question I brought up turned out to be worrying over nothing. Dennis Kelly has been great next to Nate Davis and the chemistry between Ben Jones, Davis and Kelly has been evident as you see them work in tandem to attack defenses and pave a way for the NFL’s leading rusher Derrick Henry.

So, the deal is a no-brainer victory for Jon Robinson right? Well…let’s talk about the elephant in the room.

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