During the offseason program, Tennessee Titans defensive line coach Terrell Williams made it clear that one of the biggest goals for defensive lineman Teair Tart was to improve his skills as a pass-rusher.
Tart has no doubt become an impact run defender, playing a huge role in the Titans’ elite run defense the past two seasons. However, despite having two pass-rush dynamos next to him in Jeffery Simmons and Denico Autry, Tart has hardly capitalized in the sacks department.
Over the course of his 34 career games, Tart has just 1.5 sacks, although those came during the 2022 campaign, showing the Florida International product and former UDFA is at least making strides.
Williams stated last month that he believes Tart made strides as a pass-rusher around the middle of last season, while also noting Tart has continued to show improvement this offseason, per Jim Wyatt of Titans Online.
“The biggest thing for him was working on the pass rush part, and we spent a lot of time working on that as a group, and with him some individually,” Williams said. “He’s definitely made some strides there.”
Tart is fully aware of his need to improve at getting after the quarterback, which he believes will enable him to play more snaps.
“It is important, just not being a one-trick pony,” Tart said. “Being versatile, the more you can do, the longer you’ll be on the team and the more you’ll be on the field.”
“The next step for me is developing my pass rush game and solidifying my identity and be the type of player, the type of rusher, I want to be,” he added. “I want to be the best player I can possibly be.”
The Titans already have one of the more talented defensive lines in the NFL going into 2023, but that group has the potential to be even better than it has been the past two years if Tart takes that next step as a pass-rusher.
