Tennessee Titans: Two interior o-linemen make top-25 list

Two Tennessee Titans made Pro Football Focus’ top-25 interior offensive linemen ranking after a successful season protecting the quarterback.

The Tennessee Titans put together one of the best seasons a 9-7 team could have. They had an unprecedented playoff run where they beat the NFL’s dynasty and No. 1 seed in back to back weeks.

There’s a lot that goes into winning two games like that, and you can’t just look at one position group and say they were the reason. But one of the position groups that helped get the Titans to the AFC Championship is the offensive line.

Pro Football Focus has recognized that and ranked two of the three Titans interior offensive linemen in the top-25 best interior offensive linemen in the league.

PFF’s Ben Linsey put the list together and included Titans guard Rodger Saffold and center Ben Jones. Saffold came in at No. 11, and Jones came in at No. 18.

"“There has been a lot of discussion around the decline we saw from the Los Angeles Rams’ offensive line in 2019,” Linsey said about Rodger Saffold. “Saffold’s departure wasn’t the sole domino to fall, but it was an important one. Excluding a 2015 season where he played just 233 offensive snaps, Saffold has recorded a PFF pass-blocking grade of at least 72.0 in every season since 2012 — he’s a consistently strong performer at the guard position. His grading profile as a run-blocker has really picked up in the last several seasons, as well. Since 2017, the only two guards to record a positively graded run block on a higher percentage of their snaps than Saffold have been Nelson and Brooks. One could be in worse company.”"

Saffold had quite the year last season, and he will hope to continue that dominance with a little more consistency and guarantees in the offense this year compared to last year. He might even be able to crack the top-ten this time next year.

"“After fitting the good-not-great mold for much of his NFL career, Jones really stepped up his play in 2019 — particularly in pass protection,” Linsey said about Ben Jones. “His 1.8% pressure rate allowed at center for the Titans was a top-five mark at the position, and the only center with a higher PFF pass-blocking grade than Jones (86.8) was Rodney Hudson. He allowed multiple pressures in just one game all season. Even at a position like center, which limits the number of truly destructive pass-protecting performances that we see, that’s an impressive season for Jones. He allowed just two pressures in the team’s final seven games. Tennessee will be hoping that elite play carries over into next year as they look to compete in the AFC South.”"

As Linsey said, I think Jones is a brink top-five center in the league with a couple of stats that place him in the top five. I think he and Saffold both have an opportunity to build off one of the best seasons of their career, if not the best, and be even better in 2020.

The Titans offensive line is an anchor for the offense and a big part in the offense’s success. If the o-line can continue its success from 2019, then there’s no doubt that the Titans could be an elite offense in 2020.