JC Latham at Left Tackle Adds a Big Piece to Makeover of Titans Offensive Line

Peter Skoronski, the All-Rookie team left guard, now will be flanked on the Tennessee Titans offensive line by center Lloyd Cushenberry, who allowed only one sack in 2023, and first-round draft pick JC Latham, a 6-foot-6, 342-pound anchor at left tackle.

Apr 25, 2024; Detroit, MI, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide offensive lineman JC Latham poses after being / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

NASHVILLE — Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon's rebuilding project took another big step forward Thursday when the team picked Alabama offensive lineman JC Latham with the No. 7 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Latham, 6-foot-6 and 342 pounds, was a right tackle in college, but the Titans believe they can plug him at left tackle, which would give him the responsibility of protecting quarterback Will Levis' blind side.

"He sees himself as a left tackle. I mean, they all do," Callahan said. "But, he felt like the way that it happened at Alabama, they were trying to get their best five, and he was comfortable moving and playing on the right side. He was a left tackle in high school. So that part of it, he almost expected it, which is the attitude you want guys to have. I think he possesses the requisite traits to do it. There's not going to be too many guys that are going to turn down a chance to play on the left side either. They all think they can do it. So I think he's fully capable of it."

Last season, the Titans took Peter Skoronski with their first-round pick. The hope is that Latham at tackle and Skoronski at guard will give the Titans an powerful and young left side of the line.

In free agency, the Titans also added center Lloyd Cushenberry, one of the NFL's top pass-blocking centers last season. Callahan is excited to see how Latham fits in with Cushenberry and Skoronski.

"He's a really unique player which is why he gets picked in the top seven picks of the draft. I'm just, I can't wait to get him out there," Callahan said. "He makes us a physically imposing left side of our offensive line when you put him with Peter and Cush and those guys. We've kind of taken some nice steps into really improving that unit."

The offensive line depth chart currently looks like this:

Starters
LT JC Latham
LG Peter Skoronski
C Lloyd Cushenberry
RG Daniel Brunskill
RT Dillon Radunz.

Backups:  LT Nicholas Petit-Frere, LT Jaelyn Duncan, LG Saahdiq Charles, RG Andrew Rupcich, RT John Ojukwu, RG Lachavious Simmons

NFL teams typically carry nine or ten offensive linemen on the 53-man roster. Don't be surprised if the Titans make more free-agent moves or draft another lineman Friday or Saturday.

"We're going to draft the people where we pick, but that doesn't mean player acquisitions are over," Carthon said. "So we're going to continue to look to improve just the whole roster as a whole. Like I said, I have all the confidence in the world in the kid (Latham) that he's going to figure it out just because of his make-up, who he is as a human, who he is as an athlete, who he is as a football player. But we're going to always look to continue to add to our roster."

Watch the NFL Draft

• FRIDAY: Rounds 2-3, 6 p.m. CT
• SATURDAY: Rounds 4-7, 11 a.m. CT
• HOW TO WATCH: NFL Network, NFL+, ABC, ESPN, ESPN Deportes

Titans' draft picks

• Round 1: 7th overall (JC Latham Alabama)
• Round 2: 38th overall.
• Round 3: currently no pick.
• Round 4: 106th overall.
• Round 5: 146th overall.
• Round 6: 182nd overall.
• Round 7: 242nd and 252nd overall.

Related Titans stories

• WHAT TITANS SAY ABOUT LATHAM: Addressing a priority need on the offensive line, the Tennessee Titans selected Alabama's JC Latham with the No. 7 overall pick. "We're going to start him at left tackle," Titans general manager Ran Carthon said. CLICK HERE
• WHAT LATHAM SAYS ABOUT TITANS: Alabama offensive tackle JC Latham, the Tennessee Titans' first-round pick Thursday night in the NFL Draft, had an idea that the Titans might be calling his number. When Latham had interviewed previously with the team, he and offensive line coach talked for two hours. CLICK HERE
• SOCIAL MEDIA REACTIONS: The Titans draft 6-foot-6, 342-pound JC Latham to play left tackle. The Twitterverse loves the pick. CLICK HERE
• DRAFT TRACKER: six quarterback taken in the first 12 picks. CLICK HERE