As the Tennessee Titans approach roster cutdown day here, soon, they’ve got a few key positions still needing depth. One of the pressing issues happens to be at offensive tackle, where Tennessee could afford some more talent.
Last offseason, the Titans figured they would be in better shape, there, after signing former first-round pick Andre Dillard. Having spent three seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, Dillard came to Tennessee on a 3-year, $29 million deal.
The 2023 campaign could not have gone worse for Dillard, though, as he allowed 12 sacks on the season — which led the NFL. To go along with allowing 12 sacks, Dillard also gave up a whopping 42 pressures.
Needless to say, it was an easy decision to cut him after just one year in Tennessee. Dillard hit free agency earlier this year and would go on to sign with the Green Bay Packers, who have faced similar questions at offensive tackle in a post-David Bakhtiari world for their squad.
Through his first preseason action with the Packers, Dillard is looking like a completely different player.
Andre Dillard is going from zero to hero with the Packers
It isn’t an easy sight for Titans fans to see, but Dillard is currently the top-graded offensive tackle in pass protection through two preseason games, via Pro Football Focus. He has a pass block grade of 90.1 and is the only player, at the position, with a grade above 90.0.
This isn’t necessarily a gigantic sample size, but to say Dillard hasn’t improved in just one year would be a downright lie.
The only question is, why couldn’t he have played like this in Tennessee?
The Titans brought in Brian Callahan as their new head coach, obviously, along with his father, Bill, who is one of the best offensive line coaches in the game today. It’s nothing but a “what if” situation, at this point, but had the Titans kept Dillard around and he had the chance to work with (Bill) Callahan, maybe Titans fans would have seen the improvement here rather than in Green Bay.
Now, Tennessee is again looking for depth at tackle and all fans can do is laugh as they watch a player, who was once a Titan, put on great performances on his new team.
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