Titans Tackle Chris Hubbard Fills Huge Need, Knows Line Needs to Improve Quickly

The Tennessee Titans were so desperate for offensive line help that they signed veteran Chris Hubbard in the middle of training camp. All he's does is start three straight games at right tackle, and has graded out well. The 10-year vet out of UAB has helped, but there's a lot more work still to be done.

NASHVILLE — Tennessee Titans fans who think this is the worst offensive line they've ever seen clearly have a short memory. 

Last year was brutally ugly, too. Horrible. Terrible. And that's why new Titans general manager Ran Carthon and his staff needed to do a complete rebuild across the front.

It started from the day Carthon showed up in the building last winter. It was a point of focus in free agency, and a critical point in the NFL draft, when they selected Peter Skoronski, a highly regarded offensive lineman out of Northwestern, with the 10th overall pick in the first round.

And it's the NFL, so you don't get five first-round picks. It's also not like college, where you can recruit all the guys what you want. You have to look at what's available, and make the right decisions on guys you think can help you. That's not easy. 

It's not a reach to say that at least a quarter of the teams in the NFL have serious offensive line issues. The Titans are one of them. The point, though, is that when you go to training camp, it's not like a lot of great players are available as free agents. Most teams — hell, all of the them, really — also aren't about to trade top-quality linemen. That's the premium they carry.

So you do the best you can, and hope for the best in building a roster. The Titans did that with Chris Hubbard, signing the 10-year veteran out of UAB in late July, with training camp well underway. He's had an up-and-down NFL career, but he still brings a lot to the table, too.

There's no questioning it was a good move, because Hubbard was thrust into a starting role at right tackle almost immediately out of necessity. He showed some good things in the preseason, earning the starting job. 

He played well the first two weeks — no sacks and just one quarterback pressure in 125 snaps — but struggled a bit last week against the dangerous Cleveland front that's ranked No. 1 in the NFL. 

The 32-year-old allowed two sacks, but overall, he's been pretty good. According to Pro Football Focus, Hubbard has allowed pressure on just 3.8 percent of dropbacks this season, a success rate that's tied for the best of his career. 

He's been the highest graded Titans' offensive lineman so far, outside of Skoronski, who graded higher in his only game during Week 1 at New Orleans. (He missed the last two after needed an emergency appendectomy.) That might be some big fish/small pond stuff, because they've been awful as a group. 

Standing out doesn't take a lot.

Tennessee left tackle Andre Dillard was PFF's lowest ranked tackle last week, and the Tennessee offensive line allowed six sacks against the Browns. The unit’s 66.7 pass-blocking efficiency rating ranked dead last among all offensive lines in Week 3.

Hubbard doesn't get caught up in those rankings. He's more concerned with what his coaches say. He knows he played well the first two weeks, but that the game against the Browns was a struggle for all of them. 

It was not good, and he knows it.

"No, honestly, I don't look at that. I look at what we work on day in and day out with the guys,'' Hubbard said in front of his locker earlier this week. "It was a tough week, you know what I mean, and it was a good game (for the Browns), so kudos to those guys. But I know what I need to do to get back on track. I just need to step it back up.

"They are really good. Very tough, man. They've shown that all year, and they were a lot to handle. ''

There's no question about that. Cleveland ranks No. 1 in the league in yards allowed (163.7, nearly 90 yards better than No. 2 Buffalo), and they can pressure the passer. The Titans' front struggled all day, allowing those six sacks and helping — or hurting? — the Tennessee offense gain just 94 yards all day.

They have to be better, and Hubbard knows it. They can't be that epically bad again, and that starts on Sunday when the Titans host the Cincinnati Bengals at Noon CT at Nissan Stadium. 

"We just have to block the front, just do our job. That's really it, man,'' Hubbard said. "There's nothing more to it, nothing else to prove. We've got the plays, and we've got to execute the plays and get better from there. That's all we can do. 

"We've got to block whatever front we face. We've got to handle those down guys and those backers and make sure our quarterbacks stay clean and our running backs can see a hole and get through.''

The Titans' running game has yet to get going so far, despite having Derrick Henry in the backfield along with explosive rookie Tyjae Spears. Henry is averaging only 3.2 yards per carry on his 51 touches so far.

For a team that's prided itself on playing smash-mouth football through the years, this is shameful.

"To answer that with the running game, that's based on what we can get done,'' Hubbard said. "We have to make sure we're on the right combinations and we're talking it all out and on the same page. We have to open up holes.  That's the objective, and that's the job.''

Right guard Daniel Brunskill, who plays alongside Hubbard, said there are no excuses for all the new faces along the line getting comfortable. Not three weeks in, he said. Hubbard agrees. They're working together, and talking a lot. They know the playbook, and now it's more about simply executing better as a group. 

"We communicate and talk all the time,'' Hubbard said. "That's what you have to do in this game. You have to communicate to play at a high level.'' 

Hubbard was brought in after 2022 right tackle starter Nicholas Petit-Frere was suspended by the NFL for six games for violating the league's gambling policy. That suspension was reduced to four games on Friday, and Petit-Frere — who's had to be away from the Titans' facility since the regular season started — will be eligible to play again next Sunday at Indianapolis.

It's going to be interesting to see what happens next. Titans offensive coordinator Tim Kelly said Thursday that it's all about having the five best guys out there on the offensive line, and having them all work together.

Who are those five? And who works best where? 

This is a line that needs to do more, and to win more battles, both individually and collectively. They are ranked No. 30 out of 32 NFL teams for a reason. That's not good, and that needs to change, starting on Sunday.

Related: Chris Hubbard talks mental health

There's a terrific story on ESPN.com by Titans reporter Turron Davenport about what Chris Hubbard has dealt with mentally during his NFL career, and how dealing with money and family demands required trips to therapy to stay strong mentally.

I am a huge proponent of mental health awareness, and have published several books on the topic, so while we're talking about Hubbard today, I thought it was important to share Turron's story as well. Mental health means a lot to him, and it does to me, too. To read it all, CLICK HERE

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• PETIT-FRERE SUSPENSION REDUCED: The Tennessee Titans will get their second-year offensive tackle back two weeks early from a gambling-related suspension due to the NFL and NFLPA agreeing to amend the current rules. CLICK HERE
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