The Tennessee Titans have a lot of decision-making to do ahead of free agency and the 2020 NFL Draft after falling just a game short of a Super Bowl appearance.
They can’t hold onto everyone, but there’s a few names essential to keeping in the fold.
Is right tackle Jack Conklin one of those?
He’s had more than his fair share of struggles throughout his NFL career – particularly in 2018 – but he redeemed himself in 2019.
Conklin’s 78.3 overall Pro Football Focus grade placed him at 12th among tackles in 2019.
The 25-year-old also recorded the fifth-highest run-blocking grade – 81.0 – among the league’s tackles, the sixth-best tackle on zone runs and 14th on gap runs — a big part of propelling running back Derrick Henry to holding the 2019 NFL rushing title.
We’ve also seen what Conklin is capable of in previous years, as he earned First-Team All-Pro honors during his rookie season, also recording a number of solid showings in 2017.
A lot of Conklin’s shortcomings in 2018 can also be pinned on injury, which he’s shown he’s past at this point.
Quality tackles are not easy to come by in the NFL, and Tennessee would be smart to keep him in Nashville.
If the Titans don’t reach some sort of agreement to bring Conklin back, he’ll be hotly pursued by teams looking for improvement on the offensive line like the New York Jets and the New York Giants — just to name a couple.
Conklin won’t come cheap, and is up for the likes of a six-year, $90.1 million contract according to Spotrac, making him one of the NFL’s highest-paid right tackles.
