Tennessee Titans: Taylor Lewan, Jack Conklin Make NFL's Best Tackle Duo
The Tennessee Titans may not have had the year many expected, by Taylor Lewan and Jack Conklin have been the brightest of spots on the offensive line
Going two-for-three isn’t too bad—especially in terms of selecting offensive lineman in the first round. As of right now, it’s looking like the Tennessee Titans hit homeruns in the selections of bookend tackles Taylor Lewan and Jack Conklin. While the selection of Chance Warmack is proving to be a dud as the guard looks to have played his last game in a two-tone blue uniform.
Despite the team possessing a 1-3 record through the first month of the season, the offensive line has shown immense improvement from the past couple seasons.
According to Pro Football Focus, the big unit up front is actually graded as the top offensive line in the entire NFL, after giving up the league’s most sacks (54) just a year prior.
.@PFF ranks the @Titans offensive line No.1 in the NFL in first quarter (ranked 25 in preseason). Here's what @PFF_Sam said … pic.twitter.com/28DeYdukjO
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) October 5, 2016
A key reason as to why the team’s offensive line has gone from worst to first? The young tackle duo of Lewan and Conklin.
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Taylor Lewan was one of the few draft picks former general manager Ruston Webster hit the jack pot on during his tenure with the team. When the front office pulled the trigger on the former Michigan Wolverine, they already had a well established bookend combination in Michael Roos and David Stewart, making the pick highly questionable. Nobody expected Lewan to make the jump he has, despite the negative image some have decide to give him.
On the other hand, Jack Conklin is hopefully the first of many first-round selections that current general manager Jon Robinson hits on the head. The rookie has stepped right in and filled arguably the biggest hole on the team other then corner back. Often punishing opposing defensive lineman in the run game as expected, Conklin has actually shown promise in pass protection against some serious competition. That was an area many scouts were concerned about with Michigan State road grader, due to his size and lack of quick feet.
The two tackles have played so well, that they’ve actually graded out as two of the top five offensive tackles in the league. Which makes Tennessee the only team to possess two players on the list.
Top-graded tackles so far:https://t.co/SpPvzdWMX9 pic.twitter.com/lcQPIOTA8m
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) October 3, 2016
Although the team may not be winning as many games as the fans have wanted up to this point, some credit must go to the front office and Robinson. When he was first hired as the general manager, Robinson vowed to give Marcus Mariota solid protection and build a physical, intelligent unit up front. He’s accomplished just that and it shows every Sunday with the production DeMarco Murray has enjoyed in a bounce-back campaign and the time Marcus Mariota has had to distribute the ball.
With the consistent play of the entire line, Mariota should be getting out of his sophomore slump sooner rather then later. A majority of the blame can be put on the pass catchers for failing to create separation, but the former Heisman Trophy winner must take better care of the football if the team is to win these close games they keep finding themselves in.
With all of that being said, it’ll be interesting to see if Lewan and Conklin will be able to maintain their dominance for the rest of the season.
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