Tennessee Titans: Will they sign Joe Barksdale later?

The Tennessee Titans took an elite offensive tackle prospect in last year’s draft, as they believed Taylor Lewan‘s ability on the field outweighs the concerns against him off of it. Based on a quality rookie season that was clearly better than the other two touted rookie prospects, it looks like they definitely made the right choice, and Lewan was clearly a dominant player in all phases of the game as a college prospect. Some people have criticized Lewan’s rookie year, but I’m confident he has a place in this league.

Lewan is safely locked in as the Titans starting left tackle, and he should earn the “franchise left tackle” label sooner rather than later. However, the Titans have a rather large hole at right tackle, and it’s clear that neither Jamon Meredith nor Byron Stingily are good enough to fill that void. The Titans have to add a starting RT, regardless of whether they draft Marcus Mariota or choose to stick with Zach Mettenberger.

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In fact, the need to have a strong offensive line is more pronounced if Mettenberger is at the helm, since he’s far less mobile, needs time to take the deep shots he’s known for, and doesn’t have as good pocket awareness as the former Ducks superstar.

There aren’t many options out there on the open market, but one quality choice is former St. Louis Rams right tackle Joe Barksdale, who still has some interest from the OL-needy club. It’s weird to see how little interest there is in a player who broke out in 2013 and wasn’t half bad in 2014 either, but maybe NFL teams see something us outsiders don’t.

In any case, Barksdale is the best man available, and that’s why it wasn’t surprising to see the Titans bring him in for a visit this week. This trip, however, didn’t amount to anything, as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jim Thomas reports that he left Tennessee without an offer with the Rams maintaining their slight level of interest in bringing him back for the 2015 season.

At this stage, Barksdale is looking at a one-year deal despite the fact that he’s 27 and plays an in-demand position, and it’s because teams evidently don’t trust him after his emergence in 2013 in which he was a no-name-to-starter story as Rodger Saffold‘s injury replacement.

Barksdale struggled last season in pass protection, allowing seven sacks and more pressures than any other player on the Rams, according to Pro Football Focus. Some quietly positive run blocking on an offensive line that didn’t generate much push in the ground game didn’t save him, as it’s hard to ignore the fact that just three offensive tackles (Ja’Wuan James, Matt Kalil, and fellow free agent Byron Bell…not exactly good company) allowed more pressure than him last season.

In a “what have you done for me lately” league, Barksdale did a whole lot of nothing in his most recent season, and that completely undid all of the work he did in 2013, which might be seen as a fluky season by some. Of course, it’s important to note that his teammates on the Rams offensive line didn’t exactly fare out so well either, and a bad offensive line has a way of making the bright spots look worse than they really are.

The Tennessee Titans have two very good building blocks up front in Lewan and guard Chance Warmack, and both were among the top prospects in the 2013 and 2014 draft classes. There’s always hope left guard Andy Levitre finds his Buffalo Bills form, because he’s been a question mark ever since signing a big contract with the Titans that initially looked like a good bit of business by the front office (I never saw this slump from Levitre coming).

That said, the Titans line is a below-average unit as a whole, and they desperately need some sort of an upgrade at right tackle. Even though Barksdale was torched last season, he’d still be a huge improvement over Stingily or Meredith, especially when it comes to their impact in the running game (Bishop Sankey could use some help in his second season).

Aug 23, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; St. Louis Rams tackle Joe Barksdale (72) against the Cleveland Browns during the first quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Schwane-USA TODAY Sports

After drafting a top tackle in last year’s draft, the Titans could look to take another OT this year after the No. 2 overall pick, but it’s so hard to feel safe with any tackle, much less one drafted after the first round.

I mean, elite prospects like Luke Joeckel, Eric Fisher, and Jake Matthews have failed to meet expectations to this very early point in their careers, which means that if the Titans are looking to find an immediately solid tackle, then they most likely won’t find that player in the draft.

If the Titans decide to sign Barksdale as a cheap, experienced option on a one-year contract, then it would almost certainly be after the draft. Teams rarely sign future starters this close to the draft, and the Titans would probably like to see what happens in the draft before making a decision on adding a veteran capable of starting.

I don’t anticipate the Titans nabbing a better tackle in the draft, so don’t be surprised if Barksdale circles back to Tennessee, since I’m also not sure he ends up back in St. Louis.

Next: How good was Delanie Walker last year?

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