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Syndication: The Tennessean
The rapid progression of Nicholas Petit-Frere has been one of the pleasant surprises of camp thus far. On the contrary, the inconsistencies with Dillon Radunz’s game has been one of the more concerning storylines.
After preseason Week 2, Pro Football Focus gave Radunz an underwhelming pass-blocking grade of 17.8, along with a run blocking grade of 55.8.
Overall, the North Dakota State product received a final grade of 27.4 for his efforts against Tampa Bay. To be fair, these numbers seem to be exaggerated a ton, as his film isn’t quite that poor.
But one thing that stands out about Radunz is his tendency to lose reps in an ugly fashion. The second-year lineman’s bad reps are often noticeable to even the most casual football fan.
Petit-Frere, on the other hand, hasn’t been perfect by any means, but the Ohio State product seems very comfortable on the right side.
I’m somewhat surprised that #Titans rookie OT Nicholas Petit-Frere is immediately pushing Dillon Radunz, but he did have some success at RT back in 2020.
According to PFF & SIS, NPF accounted for: https://t.co/NOY1eR46OO pic.twitter.com/YPe0ueibAl
— Shaun Calderon (@ShaunMichaels31) August 8, 2022
More often than not, he comes off as a fundamentally-sound and cerebral rookie when he’s out there. The former Buckeye is also versatile enough to play on both tackle spots, something that has certainly impressed his head coach.
“That’s something that we’re always looking for, that you have some versatility and flexibility to play more than one position,” head coach Mike Vrabel said, per Terry McCormick of Titan Insider. “Nick has shown that.”
Last week, PFF gave Petit-Frere a superior pass-blocking grade to that of Radunz with a 74.3, but his overall grade on the evening was just over 54.
Again, you could make a very strong argument that his film was also much better than those grades would indicate.
Going back through and watching NPF individually. I don’t imagine the decision to start him over Radunz was very difficult pic.twitter.com/5RTjfMEEEA
— James Foster (@NoFlagsFilm) August 27, 2022
As of right now, it seems like Petit-Frere is trending towards being the Week 1 starter at right tackle after seeing Radunz getting reps at guard all this week while NPF remains at right tackle.
If Radunz has indeed lost, he could either be the primary swing tackle, or he could try his luck at being a late entrant into the competition for the starting left guard spot. However, winning that competition this late over Aaron Brewer seems like an unlikely outcome.
If Radunz gets snaps at guard on Saturday night, the most ideal scenario is that he looks comfortable, fluid, and reliable at guard, which ends up making a decision for that starting spot harder than it otherwise would have been.
With only one preseason game left, be on the lookout for how both of these offensive linemen perform as they try to solidify themselves as starters for this offense.
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