Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill is working with a lot of new parts in training camp this year, which is welcomed after the disaster that was the 2022 campaign.
Tannehill, who also dealt with injuries to himself and the players around him, had an offensive line that couldn’t block and receivers who couldn’t get open, leading to a passing attack that ranked 30th in the NFL.
But things are looking up this year, as the Titans have beefed up their receiving corps. with DeAndre Hopkins while also sporting a promising young duo of pass-catchers in Treylon Burks and Chig Okonkwo.
The offensive line has been completely revamped, although the Titans have done that with unproven to mostly unproven players. Even still, the fact that there are simply new names at most spots is promising.
Tannehill and Hopkins are spending a lot of time together in the building and have even stayed late after practice — and their chemistry building appears to be working thus far given their consistent connections in camp.
Tannehill believes he and Hopkins have made significant strides.
“We’re talking a lot,” Tannehill said on Thursday, per Tom Brew of AllTitans. “We had learning reps today out there, where we had to talk after the play, one of them being the fourth-down play down in the two-minute. That’s going to be a process as he gets accustomed to what we’re doing.
“I’ll get used to him. There’s going to be some growing reps with him where we’ll learn from them. Now I feel confident that if we’re presented with the same situation, that we’ll be on the same page. I’m excited about how we are growing together. We’re going to continue to have reps like that where we’re a little off. We’ll be able to grow from it, learn from it, and it will be different.”
Another exciting aspect of the Titans’ offense is the growth of another wide receiver in Burks, who is in better shape and looks much more comfortable ahead of his second season.
Tannehill has noticed that growth, also.
“Treylon’s done a great job, going all the way back to the spring and coming in and working and now kind of switching positions, learning the other side and being able to move around a little bit,” Tannehill explained. “I think the more we can move guys around, the better that will make our offense. I’m excited about how he’s worked and how he’s progressed and how he’s going to help us move the ball and score touchdowns on Sundays.”
The offensive line remains the biggest question mark, and even more so now that Nicholas Petit-Frere, who was the only starter returning to their position from 2022, is suspended for the first six games.
Tennessee figures to have mostly every spot figured out, with Andre Dillard at left tackle, Peter Skoronski at left guard, Aaron Brewer at center and Daniel Brunskill at right guard.
But the right tackle spot remains up for grabs and was thrown a bit of a curveball recently when the frontrunner for the job, Jamarco Jones, was released following two practice ejections this week.
With the defense regularly dominating, things have not been good for the offense overall so far in training camp, and especially upfront in pass protection, which was the O-line’s biggest issue last year.
Thankfully, Tannehill sees some improvement in that area, while also noting there’s still a lot of camp left to get better and continue gelling with all the new pieces around him.
“Just like everyone else, you see guys stepping in kind of battling it out up front,” he said. “I’ve seen some really good things. We’ve done some good things in the run game, our pass protection has been improved, I think, so those are all good things. We just have to keep growing those guys together as a unit and keep gelling, because it plays off each other so much. It’s not five guys on individual islands. Those guys have to be able to play together, just like receivers and quarterbacks. You have to work with the guys to the left and the right of you, in the run game and the pass game.”
“We’re five days in, five practices in, and there’s still work to be done,” he added. “I don’t think any aspect of our team is where it should be or where we want it to be. We’re got to keep the foot on the gas and keep going.
“There’s a lot of training camp left, and a lot of practices we have left, time in the meeting room we have left, so we have to take advantage of every day and we’ll keep our foot on the gas and keep moving.”
As of right now, the Titans will continue rotating players in and out of that right tackle spot and may even bring more guys in for workouts, as head coach Mike Vrabel stated after practice on Friday.
Tannehill would prefer the starting five be locked down sooner rather than later, but says ultimately all that matters is the group being ready to go for Week 1.
“The earlier the better, but at the end of the day we just have to be ready to go on Week 1,” he said. “Obviously, we’re here to improve each and every day, and it’s all about prepping for the regular season. When that time comes Week 1, we’ll be ready to roll.”
