[FREE] A Dillon Radunz Redemption Story?
Dillon Radunz becoming the team's best option at right tackle could be the best case scenario
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During the earlier portion of the off-season — August 2nd to be exact — Stacking The Inbox brought you all an opinionated piece about the Titans and their concerning lack of urgency regarding the right tackle spot.
The leading candidate at the time — Jamarco Jones — was set to take over the right tackle spot, giving the Titans some continuity at the most intriguing spot on their offensive line and giving the team a chance to finally see if their $4.8M investment was worth the risk.
Chris Hubbard on the other hand, was still considered a depth signing that would’ve only played starting snaps if:
Jones played so poorly, that the Titans would’ve had no choice but to slot Hubbard in at right tackle, just to see if the quality could somehow change.
Jones got hurt again, leaving Hubbard with a quality chance to receive starting snaps.
Other names were potentially thrown out there, but these two were the only serious ones being considered for the job.
Will all that in mind, let’s take a bit of a trip.
Fast forward to September 6th and the piece we released just over a month ago, rings so true and loud that your eardrums might spontaneously combust if it heard any more.
To put it simply, a lot has changed.
I’ll spare the extra details since we know what’s going on. But for reasons, we’ll quickly summarize what has went down in between this time period.
Jamarco Jones? Now off the team after participating in a number of fights throughout camp. Chris Hubbard? Now in line to start in Week One when the Titans travel to New Orleans to take on the Saints this upcoming Sunday.
Funny how quickly things can change huh?
Now, with the Titans’ current right tackle situation in a bit of a crisis now, it’s easy to jump back to that August 2nd article and say we were right. Luckily we’re not a difficult bunch though, so we’ll just say we were right.
Being so lax with such a crucial position, especially when better options are there for the taking, can produce dangerous consequences that you’re probably not prepared to deal with. The consequences in this instance?
Running out with a questionable option at right tackle, while praying to the good Lord that your other questionable, but young right tackle option isn’t as awful as he was as a rookie, when he returns from a 6 game gambling suspension.
Clearly some undesirable consequences there.
But if there’s a silver lining in all of this, it’s that the Titans might, and I mean might have a bit of a solution to the problem they brought upon themselves.
And that silver lining rests on the shoulders of a certain former standout from North Dakota State.
Dillon Radunz, potential savior?
Titans fans have heard this story before.
For years, we heard shouts of Dillon Radunz finding his place along the Titans’ offensive line, only for those shouts to be turned into fallacies as time went on.
Want proof? Just take a look back at the 2022 off-season.
Radunz was supposed to walk away with the starting right tackle job, but he lost it to Nicholas Petit-Frere due to poor play and Petit-Frere being along farther than the coaching staff thought he’d be (allegedly).
Radunz then sat on the bench, until he was thrown into the fire again at left tackle during the regular season. This time due to poor play from Dennis [redacted]. Radunz found some momentum there, but he unfortunately tore his ACL during the same game he was thrust into, therefore ruining his chance at a comeback stretch.
Now in 2023, Radunz has a chance to do it all over again, this time at right tackle instead of left tackle. But as we saw during his snaps in 2021 and 2022, the right side has some concerns for Dillon.
Right side woes?
Radunz had some trouble adjusting to the right side as a rookie in 2021. None of his troubles were more evident than his disappointing preseason performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in which he gave up multiple pressures and looked outmatched.
Those struggles at the time were attributed to competition shock, given that Radunz was adjusting from the FCS level to the NFL. But as those struggles continued, they were starting to be attributed to more of a personal skill level than a simple adjustment period.
Radunz struggled to lock down the Titans’ starting right tackle job in 2022, leaving him in the dark regarding his future moving forward.
There was a potential path to playing time on the left side, as longtime starter Taylor Lewan was released after the 2022 season. But the right side appeared more challenging, due to playing time and obvious struggles there for Radunz himself.
However, all of that has changed now.
Andre Dillard is the new starter at left tackle, leaving only a volatile right side available for Radunz to find playing time. Some would ask, is that even a smart option considering his struggles in the past?
And while your concerns might be valid, I don’t think they matter at this point. I’m not saying that in a mean way, but in a way of genuine curiosity.
Radunz’s right side struggles might not matter
Because if there was a time for Radunz to live up to his billing as a second round pick, it’d be now.
The Titans have no viable plan for right tackle at this moment. Yes, Hubbard has locked down the starting job for now, but it’d be foolish to bet on him holding the role down for the foreseeable future.
Enter Radunz, whose standing as the second right tackle on the Titans’ latest unofficial depth chart all but confirms the Titans’ plans for him.
If Hubbard were to struggle, we should see Radunz out there playing on that right side.
Is that a good idea?
Well, who knows.
But at this moment, who really cares? The Titans have dug themselves into this personal grave of sort and Radunz might be the only person who can save them. It isn’t a shoe fits all solution, but it’d be the best one the Titans could run into if things hit the fan.
Which they really might.
Overview
This is a lot of “what if”-ism for a player that has struggled mightily on the right side in the past.
But right now, that’s the best case scenario for the Titans. And probably a scenario they’d welcome at the end of the day as well.
For now though, the Titans have to get Radunz healthy, as he’s still trying to fully return from his torn ACL.
But once the training wheels are able to come off, maybe then we’ll see if they want to gamble on Radunz finally realizing the potential he still has.
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