One of the biggest bright spots from the Tennessee Titans’ first preseason game was the performance of the projected starting offensive line.
Left tackle Andre Dillard, left guard Peter Skoronski, center Aaron Brewer, right guard Daniel Brunskill and right tackle Chris Hubbard each played the first drive of the game, looking very solid as a unit in the small sample size that we got from them.
Brewer (81.9) and Brunskill (79.9) actually produced the two highest overall grades on offense while Dillard rounded out the top 10 after receiving a respectable grade of 70.0, per Pro Football Focus.
Most importantly, the group allowed just one pressure, no sacks and was solid in the run game, too.
As for the Titans’ first-round draft pick, Skoronski more than held his own in his first taste of NFL action, especially in pass protection, where the rookie lineman received an impressive pass-blocking grade of 78.2.
Now that the Northwestern product got a chance to make his long-awaited preseason debut, he recently had a chance to reflect on how he personally felt it went after practice on Monday.
“It’s a little bit surreal, that first game experience,” Skoronski said, per Jim Wyatt. “I feel like I settled in and, you know, it’s just ball, so it felt good to get out there.”
The rookie noted that the lone series, which resulted in a touchdown, helped build the confidence of the starting group. But he also understands there’s still work to be done.
“That drive helped a lot in terms of our confidence in general, kind of being able to run the ball down there and score on just one drive, it kind of makes you feel good,” he said. “But obviously, [we have] stuff to work on, and it’s going to take a little more time to gel, and work together, and it’s not going to click right away, but I think it’s a step in the right direction.”
Brewer doubled down on this stance, as well, stating that it doesn’t really get much better than driving down the field in 12 plays and scoring a touchdown (he said 13, but it was 12).
“It don’t really get better than that. I was very proud of what we put on the field.”#Titans C Aaron Brewer talks the starting OL first drive that capped off a 13 play drive with a touchdown. pic.twitter.com/hn8wMaSdZh
— 104-5 The Zone 📻 (@1045TheZone) August 14, 2023
The next benchmark for the Titans’ offensive line will come this week when Tennessee travels to Minnesota to practice and play against the Vikings.
