Tennessee Titans 2015 Profiles: Taylor Lewan

Tennessee Titans left tackle Taylor Lewan has much bigger things to worry about in the 2015 season than the questions of whether or not he likes Marcus Mariota as a quarterback, because he’ll be tasked with protecting the rookie QB’s blindside. The Titans didn’t reject a gaudy trade offer from the Philadelphia Eagles to sit the No. 2 overall pick in the draft on the bench behind Zach Mettenberger, even if the LSU product was much more impressive as a rookie than most sixth-round picks.

Lewan heads into the season as a key starter on a Titans offensive line that needs to bounce back, particularly in the running game where they didn’t give rookie Bishop Sankey much of a shot at success last season. While I thought making Sankey the first back off of the board was a mistake, it’s simply too early to call him a disappointment, even if his rookie year was completely unproductive.

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On the other hand, Lewan had a solid rookie campaign, and he was easily the best of the touted rookie tackles in the 2014 NFL Draft class. A fast and athletic pass blocker with a mean streak in the running game, Lewan showed in 359 snaps, per Pro Football Focus, that he has the polish and physical tools to become a franchise left tackle for the Titans. Although the team’s right tackle spot remains a black hole, they do have some promising blockers in Lewan and Chance Warmack, and perhaps one day Andy Levitre will return to his Buffalo Bills form.

There are several young skill position players worth watching closely on the Titans offense in Sankey, Mariota, Justin Hunter, and second-round rookie Dorial Green-Beckham, but the importance of Lewan at left tackle can’t be understated. He has a chance to emerge as a top left tackle in the near future, and his ability to successfully play the position this season could make a big difference for the likes of Mariota and Sankey in the Tennessee Titans backfield.

Last season, Lewan allowed four sacks, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. He didn’t give up too much pressure, and he finished with the 31st best Pass Blocking Efficiency from Pro Football Focus out of 78 qualifying tackles. That’s a strong mark for a young tackle, and he was also an important run blocker for the Titans.

Per Football Outsiders‘s adjusted line yards, the Titans were noticeably better at running the ball to the left than they were on runs to the right, and Lewan likely played a big role in that. In fact, per PFF, backup RB Shonn Greene had double the amount of yards per carry on runs to the left vs. the right, while Sankey also averaged more yards per carry when running to the left.

It will be exciting to see the steps forward Taylor Lewan can take in his sophomore season, because there’s a chance he could break out. He’ll also be back to full health, as he struggled with a high-ankle sprain in late November, which led him to have a very poor day against the Philadelphia Eagles (he allowed a season-high two sacks and four total pressures in that one).

Outside of that injury-induced performance, Lewan was solid in his other nine games and looked like an excellent pick by the Titans. This is an offensive line that knows it needs to step it up in 2015, and hopefully their second-year left tackle out of Michigan can spearhead that.

Next: Mariota ahead of the curve

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