The Tennessee Titans haven't started a season at full strength in years, and that trend will continue in 2023 after the suspension of Nicholas Petit-Frere.
Out of all of the offensive linemen on the Tennessee Titans roster, NPF was the only player who was going to come back and start at the same position he started at last season. With a bad offensive line coach, one of the worst OCs in the NFL, and a team that seemingly lost two starters every week due to injury, I think it is fair to say NPF wasn't put in a great position to succeed as a rookie.
That's why I was excited to see his development with new coaches and a full NFL offseason of training and practicing at the same position that he played the season before. Then the week before the 4th of July, he was popped for gambling at the team facility in 2022 and it was announced that he would have to miss the first six games of the season.
Since NPF is going to be out for nearly one-third of the season, the Tennessee Titans front office has to be brainstorming and trying to figure out exactly how they should solve this problem.
Usually, the easy answer would be to grab the best veteran tackle available and hope that he can pick up the offense quickly, but there are some issues with that. The most important one is that the Tennessee Titans have to prioritize signing DeAndre Hopkins, and if they don't land him then it won't really matter who is playing right tackle for the Titans.
After looking at the team's options, there is a three-step plan that can work for the Tennessee Titans. Not only would it help the Titans for the six games that NPF will miss, but it will help them for the entire season and it won't cost them anything.
1. Move Daniel Brunskill to right tackle
Moving Andre Dillard or Peter Skoronski to right tackle would be a short-sighted move that hurts the entire offensive line without any guarantee of upgrading the right tackle position. That is a non-starter, and with Dillon Radunz recovering from an ACL injury, the Tennessee Titans are down to two players with NFL starting experience at right tackle.
In his five-year career, Jamarco Jones started two games at right tackle and it was a mixed bag. I think he could be a spot starter if the team needed him, but I don't think the Tennessee Titans want to see him starting for a month and a half at right tackle if they can help it.
On the other hand, Daniel Brunskill has started four games at right tackle and he did very well. While his best position is still guard, he is the best right tackle on the roster whether NPF is available or not.
Moving Brunskill to right tackle will upgrade the position for as long as they want him to play that spot. While that decision is easy, it is harder to decide who should replace him as the starting right guard for six weeks (and maybe more).
2. Start Corey Levin at right guard
Corey Levin is clearly the best backup interior lineman on the roster, but the question is whether Mike Vrabel would actually let Tim Kelly put the only three players with center experience all play on the field at the same time.
If Aaron Brewer was starting at center, Corey Levin was starting at right guard, and Daniel Brunskill was starting at right tackle, it would leave the Titans bench without a proven backup center.
Luckily, I think this is where the new practice squad rules would help the Titans. They could keep a fourth center on the PS in case there was an emergency and they needed someone to come in and play, but they could still start their best five offensive linemen without hesitation.
Jamarco Jones, Jordan Roos, and Jaelyn Duncan all were considered but Levin is better than all three right now.
If the Tennessee Titans feel uncomfortable with all of their center options on the field at the same time, they can let this offensive line play for a few weeks and then bring Radunz in to play right guard as soon as possible.
3. Sign TE Marcedes Lewis, cut two tight ends
Regarded as one of the best blocking tight ends in recent NFL history, it is shocking that Marcedes Lewis isn't already on the Tennessee Titans roster.
Helping Daniel Brunskill at right tackle by giving him a tight end on his side of the field isn't necessary, but it would certainly make life easier. Whether that was as an extra blocker in the running game or someone to help neutralize speed rushers on passing downs, Lewis would be a welcome addition to this offense.
The best part about this is that he shouldn't cost very much against the cap. Over the last five years with the Green Bay Packers this is what his cap hit has looked like:
2018: $2.1 million
2019: $2.1 million
2020: $2.3 million
2021: $2.4 million
2022: $4.5 million
If the Tennessee Titans can sign him for $2.26 million or less, then they can create that space almost instantly. $2.26 million is how much cap space you can create by cutting Hassan Haskins, Trevon Wesco, and Kevin Rader.
The signing would make Wesco and Rader's roles irrelevant on offense because Lewis can do what they do better and more consistently. Hassan Haskins obviously has his own issues going on off the field and I can't imagine him being with the team unless he is fully cleared from that somehow.
Assuming that the Tennessee Titans are desperate for DeAndre Hopkins and they land him as well, then this is what the Tennessee Titans offense would look like for the first six weeks of the season (or maybe longer if all went well):
QB: Ryan Tannehill
RB: Derrick Henry
RB/WR: Tyjae Spears
WR: Treylon Burks
WR: DeAndre Hopkins
SWR: Kyle Philips
TE: Chig Okonkwo
TE: Marcedes Lewis
LT: Andre Dillard
LG: Peter Skoronski
C: Aaron Brewer
RG: Corey Levin
RT: Daniel Brunskill
That could actually be a very functional group for this offense with a great mix of first- or second-year players and veterans at every position group.
The more I think about this group, the more I believe that they could do well in this offense that believes in force-feeding Derrick Henry and then being efficient in the passing game around him.