Despite Hopkins' Addition, It Still Comes Down To The Titans Offensive Line

DeAndre Hopkins will soon be a Tennessee Titan, and with his addition, this offense would seem to be markedly improved overnight, at least from a skill position point of view.

Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

NASHVILLE - There's no doubt that the addition of DeAndre Hopkins to the roster of the Tennessee Titans makes their receiver room and skilled players immediately better, but that doesn't mean that there isn't still one giant question mark still hanging over this team as they prepare to open training camp in nine days.  

Quarterback Ryan Tannehill now has Hopkins, Treylon Burks, Chig Okonkwo, Kyle Phillips, and Chris Moore as primary receiving targets at wide receiver, and Derrick Henry and Tyjae Spears as running and receiving options out of the backfield at his disposal this season, but will he have the necessary time to stand and deliver these players the football.

As with everything in football, it all begins up front, in the trenches with the offensive and defensive lines, and that's where this team's question mark resides. 

Just how good will the Titans offensive line be this season?

No one can answer that question with any degree of certainty at present, and the answer might not even be clear after the preseason games have concluded, but it won't take long once the regular season kicks off to begin to figure it out. 

Of course, head coach Mike Vrabel and his staff still must decide who will fill the right tackle spot for the first six games of the season while Nicholas Petite-Frere serves his suspension for violating the league's gambling rules. 

That is on top of the questions surrounding this reworked unit of linemen that includes Andre Dillard, the former first-round selection of Philadelphia, who was never able to win a regular starting role with the team that drafted him.   

Throw in questions about center Aaron Brewer being somewhat undersized and the inexperience of rookie first-round left guard Peter Skoronski and free agent Daniel Brunskill. You have the makings for instant questions, with Vrabel and company now face. 

Let's face it, football games are won and lost in the trenches, and while Hopkins and his new offensive mates can now produce some points, can their offensive line stand up to the task and allow them to do so?

Finding the answers to these questions will determine the fate of the 2023 Tennessee Titans season, good or bad.   

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