After what we’ve seen through training camp and the first two games of the preseason, it appears the Tennessee Titans might have a problem on their hands with offensive tackle Dillon Radunz.
The 2021 second-round pick was thought to be the favorite to start at right tackle in 2022 after a quiet first season but has struggled in his quest to lock up the starting job in a competition with Nicholas Petit-Frere.
The North Dakota State product struggled in preseason Week 2 after an up and down week of joint practices.
Not only did he commit a penalty, but Radunz allowed multiple pressures, putting together a a performance that did not instill much confidence he’s the answer at right tackle.
Unsurprisingly, Pro Football Focus was not kind to Radunz’s pass-blocking, as the outlet gave him a putrid, Jamil Douglas-esque grade of 17.8 in that area.
Making matters worse for Radunz, PFF had him vastly outperformed by Petit-Frere, who recorded a very respectable 74.3 pass-block grade. The Titans rookie also bested Radunz in overall grade, 54.3 to 27.4.
Comparing @PFF grades for Petit-Frere, Radunz vs. Bucs:
Run-block Pass-block Overall Offense
Petit-Frere 52.9 74.3 54.3
Radunz 55.8 17.8 27.4— John Glennon (@glennonsports) August 21, 2022
The only area Radunz topped NPF in was in run-blocking, but it wasn’t by much, with the second-year pro sporting a 55.8, a shade under three points higher than Petit-Frere.
Of course, PFF’s grading system is far from the end-all-be-all in evaluation, but it’s another sign that this competition is a lot closer than many of us expected it to be and Radunz has a real shot of losing out.
Now, this isn’t to say Petit-Frere is lighting the world on fire. Granted, he’s been respectable, especially for a rookie, but Radunz is losing this battle more than Petit-Frere is winning it.
