Despite needing to work on some technical issues, Tennessee Titans fans had a good reason to be bullish on Nicholas Petit-Frere because he was a reliable player who played nearly every game as a rookie.
Everything seemed to be on the right track heading into his second season. Not only did he show up to camp with some positive buzz, but he was going to get to spend all of training camp with vice grips on the starting right tackle job.
After being suspended for six games by the NFL for a violation of their gambling policy, it feels like everything that NPF had going for him has gone down the drain.
It was always going to be hard to have instant success with a rebuilt offensive line, but the assumption was that the one constant was going to be NPF who had started 16 games at right tackle last season.
After signing a new left tackle in free agency and drafting a left guard with the 11th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the left side of the offensive line was supposed to be the side with the most question marks but also with the most upside. That was going to run counter to the reliability of Daniel Brunskill and NPF at right guard and right tackle respectively.
Now the Tennessee Titans must figure out how to avoid making the situation worse as they try to adapt to these new challenges. These are the mistakes that the team has to avoid going forward.
1. Overpaying for a free agent
The Tennessee Titans are in a dangerous spot because the gut reaction is to scour the free agent market to find an offensive tackle that can plug-and-play for the first six games of the season.
Maybe a backup can step up and make an argument for themselves in training camp, but as it stands right now the most obvious solution is to find one of those journeyman veterans to plug in at right tackle.
There is one reason why the Tennessee Titans have to be very careful with what they do on that front: they can't let this suspension cost them DeAndre Hopkins.
Six games with Dennis Daley at right tackle isn't as bad as an entire season with Nick Westbrook-Ikhine as the WR2 if they could have had Hopkins. While NWI is obviously a better player than Daley, this turns a six-game problem into a season-long problem, and there is no guarantee that the veteran that they bring in won't struggle to get his footing.
I'm all for bringing in a free agent, but if they go that route, Ran Carthon and Chad Brinker will need to be very smart in how they structure a deal.
2. Moving Andre Dillard or Peter Skoronski to right tackle
I'm a big believer in not letting one mistake turn into more mistakes.
Having NPF out for six games is rough, and it hurts you for a crucial stretch of the season. However, expecting Andre Dillard or Peter Skoronski to throw away what they have learned up to this point so that they can learn a different position could hurt you for the entire season.
For Dillard, even if the move worked out it could make his transition back to left tackle more difficult when NPF finally comes back. Offensive linemen often compare flip-flopping from right to left, like they are trying to play while looking in a mirror or like they are trying to write with their non-dominant hand.
There is a reason why some offensive tackles can be Pro Bowlers on one side but look completely out of place on the other side of the line. While it sounds simple, it just doesn't work that way and Dillard is a guy who would feel more comfortable at left guard than he does at right tackle.
In Skoronski's case, the Tennessee Titans have to let him play left guard.
The majority of the snaps that he has taken since being drafted have been at left guard, and moving him from guard to tackle and from left to right, would make his life exponentially harder for very little gain considering that NPF should be back by Week 7.
No matter what anyone says, Peter Skoronski's development is more important than anyone else on the offensive line because there is a good chance that he is the only player on the line who will be here in three years. He has the talent to be a great offensive lineman in this league and his long-term growth is more important than putting a Band-Aid on the right tackle spot.
3. Expecting Aaron Brewer to be able to play guard
One idea that has gotten some traction is the idea of Daniel Brunskill moving to right tackle to start the season.
When you watch Brunskill in the past, he might not be a Pro Bowler at any position, but one of his biggest strengths is being able to seamlessly move all over the offensive line. I have no doubt that he could actually have a decent stretch as the right tackle if that is what the Tennessee Titans wanted to do.
The problem is what would have to happen next.
If the Tennessee Titans wanted to sign someone like Trai Turner to take over the right guard job for a few weeks, that wouldn't be the worst idea. However, the much more likely option is that the Titans would try to move Aaron Brewer over to right guard.
I would love for the Titans to give Corey Levin a chance to win the center job based on the fact that his strong performance to finish last season was better than any stretch that Aaron Brewer had all season. However, Brewer has already proven that he has one spot where he might have sustained success in the NFL, and that is at center where his size issues are hidden as much as possible.
After all of the changes the Tennessee Titans' offensive line would clearly have a weak point, it would just be right guard instead of right tackle. If there isn't a clear improvement in the offensive line then don't shuffle it around.