Is the Titans' Faith in Aaron Brewer Misguided?
The Titans thought Aaron Brewer was worth a 2nd Round Pick and/or $4.3m...are they misguided?
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Throughout the off-season, we’ve discussed the state of the Titans’ offensive line from top to bottom.
That includes the numerous incoming pieces that are slated to start at left tackle and guard, as well as a certain second year tackle that is slated to return as the starting right tackle, but has a lot of work to do to reverse the reputation he received due to his disappointing rookie season.
However, the questions don’t end with the newcomers and the *ahem* presumed starter right tackle. No, in fact, they jump right back to the team’s presumed starter at center, which is potentially none other than Aaron Brewer.
Brewer caught the attention of Titans fans due to his light frame for a lineman, as well as previous comments made by the coaching staff in regards to his ability to fill in when needed. Those comments were well received, since no one has really heard of a 6’1, 295 lb. playing exceptionally well at guard.
However, the Titans’ staff had shown a knack for discovering hidden talents that somehow flew under the radar. Whether that was due to the lack of stereotypical competition, the lesser known school they played at, or even the rest of the league just simply ignoring what they could bring to the table, we don’t really know.
Either way, the Titans’ staff had proven they could take these unknown players and turn them into bonafide contributors.
So there wasn’t a lot of pushback when Brewer was slotted in as the team’s starting left guard ahead of the 2022 season. Sure, there were some legit concerns due to Brewer’s size, but I don’t think anyone overly panicked about that and the potential setbacks because of it.
But looking back on it, those concerns might’ve been too few in number, as Brewer put in an up and down 2022 season that certainly won’t induce a lot of confidence in him until he shows he can legitimately play well despite his own personal setbacks.
And with the Titans now pegging him to start at center in 2023, those same concerns — along with a question — will be brought up again, with the same reasoning and explanation as before.
Does Brewer deserve to even start in 2023? Is the Titans’ Faith in him a little misguided?
Well, let’s talk about it.
Some Quick Words
The main reason why some have some pushback about starting Brewer again, is simply because his lighter frame isn’t close to being ideal for an NFL interior offensive lineman.
At 6’1 and 295 lbs., Brewer stands as the lightest offensive lineman I’ve seen get snaps like these. Of course, there are others who’ve possibly played at this weight, and of course some that have — I.E. Jason Kelce of the Eagles plays at 282, but he’s such a unique player — but Brewer is the first one I’ve been able to extensively watch with a close eye.
With such a light weight as an interior lineman, you get concerned about Brewer’s ability to hold up against bigger and much strong defensive linemen.
You know why they place their beefy and meaty offensive lineman inside? Yeah, to handle the big guys like a Kenny Clark, like an Aaron Donald, like a Quinnen Williams, like a Dexter Lawrence, and like a local favorite like Jeffery Simmons.
Sticking a lighter guy there just raises a bunch of red flags in terms of potential performance, so it’s not overly common to see such a smaller guy there in a position dominated by big guys.
Speaking of, Brewer ran into this exact problem last season, as he was regularly overpowered by guys bigger and stronger than him, which of course led to these concerns we’re discussing in the first place.
Despite that though, Mike Vrabel and his staff have said they like Brewer’s toughness inside. Which is a valuable trait of course, but toughness can only get so you far if your own physical traits can’t match up well with the toughness you’re praised for having.
This isn’t to say I know more than Vrabel and staff, which couldn’t be farther from the actual truth. But I do think that leaving Brewer as a starter at center certainly isn’t a decision I’d personally make on my own.
Not only due to the massive size limitations, but also because of Brewer’s past performance there.
Let’s Bring Out The Stats
Alright, if we’re looking at personal stats for Brewer, we should take a trip down memory lane to 2022. That year was Brewer’s first year as a listed starter, which was at left guard to replace the outgoing Rodger Saffold.
According to PFF, Brewer was the 46th best graded guard last season, which isn’t ideal whatsoever. His run blocking grade stood as the 38th best among eligible guards, which was higher than his pass blocking grade which came in as the 106th best among all eligible guards (45.4).
With just a quick glance, if you didn’t know before, you can tell Brewer falls in line with the common mold of offensive linemen the Titans loved to acquire during the Jon Robinson era.
Tough, physical guys that can give you their all in the run game, but struggle to protect the quarterback when given the opportunity.
Or in other words, meathead syndrome, which is totally not made up by the way.
That build had its consequences over the years as well, as the Titans failed to regularly prove themselves as competent in pass protection.
But let’s move on.
Brewer also gave up the 12th most pressures among eligible guards per PFF, which again, pushes the narrative that Brewer isn’t a good isolated pass protector.
Now with Brewer set to move to center, these stats might not mean much, but it gives an idea that Brewer simply isn’t a caliber of a player that shouldn’t be starting when he’s clearly struggled in an offensive line area that quite frankly, seems way too big for him.
Literally and figuratively.
You could throw in Brewer’s PFF stats as a center, but those wouldn’t be fair since Brewer only played two games there, which would be a bit skewed towards one way or another.
You get the gist right?
There Could Be Hope
Brewer will see some ease in terms of playing at center, simply due to the fact that centers don’t regularly see a lot of isolated pass protecting battles against defensive linemen, because defensive alignments league wide usually favor any elite interior pass rusher lining up as a 1 (lining up across the inside shoulder of the guard), 2 (lining up right over the guard), or 3 technique (lining up on the outside shoulder on the guard, pretty common).
Plus, Brewer wouldn’t be tasked commonly with solely handling an assigned “hat” in the run game, unless he needs to handle a menacing 0 tech or nose tackle lining up directly across from him or if he has to pull (only mentioning it because Jason Kelce does it quite a fair bit, but it’s not common at all).
Don’t take this as a sign to take centers don’t have much responsibility at all, because that isn’t true at all.
He’d still have to help combo block in the run game and be very aware of any help he might have to give to his guard mates in pass protection. Two things that weigh heavily within the mental aspect of the game, an aspect that we don’t know if it’s a strength or weakness for Brewer just yet.
However, the strenuous task of being a guard would be off his plate, so it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.
The Rundown
Honestly, the Brewer experiment has been a big underwhelming most of the time, so the common conception and conclusion for this would be leaning towards being negative instead of positive.
But like I explained earlier, playing guard is different than playing center.
Does this mean Brewer will suddenly turn into some 10,000 IQ center than magically unlocks a level of play we didn’t think was possible from him.
No, in fact it’s more likely he flames out than reaching the hilarious heights he could somehow reach. But there’s some optimism here, which makes me believe that Brewer could somehow be serviceable.
Which wouldn’t be a thought of mine if you asked me at this time last June.
Crazy how the mind works, huh?
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