The two most important players to Cam Ward’s success, how a big overpay will turn into a good thing

This article is about the single most important pair of players on the Titans roster when it comes to Cam Ward's success.

This is the offensive tackle portion of an ongoing article series, breaking down the Titans projected 53-man roster one position at a time. So far we've covered the interior offensive line, quarterbacks, Kalel Mullings' role, Tyjae Spears' most important season ever, and Tony Pollard's potential ceiling.

Here's everything you need to know about the first pair of competent tackles the Titans have had in years:

Offensive Tackles

1. JC Latham
2. Dan Moore
3. John Ojukwu

Cut: Jaelyn Duncan, Olisaemeka Udoh, Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson

Guards

1. Peter Skoronski
2. Kevin Zeitler
3. Jackson Slater
4. Blake Hance

Cut: Andrew Rupcich, Chandler Brewer

Centers

1. Lloyd Cushenberry
2. Corey Levin

Cut: Sam Mustipher, Brenden Jaimes

Success Or Failure: In The Tackles’ Hands

The one change I made to this depth chart projection after OTA’s and Mandatory Minicamp is including OT John Ojukwu and removing Oli Udoh and Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson. As for Crenshaw-Dickson, who I find very intriguing, I think he'll take some time on the practice squad. But I'm not going to rule out a development track for him down the road. And Udoh was brought in to compete, but the more I spoke with people at practice, the more apparent it became that Ojukwu has a role to play in this offense. He is far from perfect. He may never be a truly satisfactory swing tackle in the NFL… but I’d argue, who does? More on that idea under the next heading.

What Ojukwu does bring to the table, though, is athletic versatility in jumbo packages. The Titans tapped him to beef up the line on these looks in 2024, and I think he could be useful in that way again this year. I also think going into his 2nd year in the Bill Callahan system could mean some development starts to take hold. We’ll have to wait and see.

As for everybody in this tackle room, the starters in particular, I think they hold in their hands the keys to this car. I don’t think there is a thing about this team more important—outside of Cam Ward being good at football—to their success in 2025 than the tackle play. When I ranked Ward’s supporting cast on offense, which you can read here, I tried to emphasize just how vital this offensive line is.

I think they will make or break the beginning of this rebuild. They have the ability to make this team look surprisingly good in a hurry. They also have the ability to burn everything going on around them to the ground, whether those things are working well or not. They are the cornerstone. Between OL play and skill play, If you gave me the choice between supplying Cam Ward with utter competence at one and incompetence at the other, my decision couldn’t be easier. Ward’s success begins in the trenches. Simply give him space and time, and I trust him to figure out the rest.

Dan Moore Is Tall Enough To Ride The Ride

When the Titans signed Dan Moore to the largest OL deal in free agency, 4yr/$82M, a lot of people panned the move as a serious overpay of an average tackle. And I think both of those things can be independently true, and still be a good thing for the Titans. That sounds like a serious dose of cope, doesn’t it? Let me explain.

Yes, I agree it was an overpay. And yes, I agree Dan Moore is an average tackle. In fact, I have heard him quite appropriated described as the most average tackle in the NFL. But unlike those who say that in a dismissive, derogatory tone, I’ve come to appreciate what truly average tackle play means.

I spoke with Brandon Thorn back when the Titans first signed Moore. Thorn is the foremost thought leader in NFL media today on the topic of offensive line play. I highly recommend reading what he had to say at the link here. My conversation with him changed the way that I think about the tackle position. There’s no doubt that having a truly elite tackle is a game changer for what you can accomplish in the trenches. But what’s really the most important thing about tackle play is having good enough.

Offensive line, but particularly offensive tackle, is kind of a benchmark position. You have to be tall enough to ride the ride. There’s a pretty black-and-white line of demarcation between guys who can hang at tackle in the NFL and those who can’t. We don’t really see guys living in the grey area in-between; it’s usually pretty easy to tell which category they fit into. And at any given time, there are something like 16-20 left tackles in the league who can actually hang.

The Titans have been in the wilderness for season after season with guys who clearly couldn’t hang. NPF, Andre Dillard, and Dennis Daley has been an atrocious run of pain and sorrow. And when each of those guys were installed as a Titans starter, there was significant projection involved. None of them had the track record that Dan Moore has. For all of his limitations, Moore has played four consecutive seasons of 1000+ snaps.

So there aren’t many questions about what he is. We’ve seen it, his skillset has been exposed to a high degree of sunlight. It’s bright as day that Dan Moore is an average tackle. It’s bright as day that he has flaws. But it’s also bright as day that he’s tall enough to ride the ride. I think he is clearly a capable starting LT in this league. If you don’t want to take my word for it, take Brandon Thorn’s. And if that’s what he continues to be for the Titans, then finally having two capable starting tackles for the first time in years is well worth what it cost to sign him. At tackle, average is good. Because average can be so, so hard to find.

Look Good, Play Good For JC Latham

I’m really excited to see what JC Latham looks like on the field this year. Because I’ve seen what he looks like off the field right now, and it’s a stark difference from how he looked in the winter.

“Yeah, he really committed himself to getting his weight at the range that he needed to get it to.” Coach Brian Callahan explained during Mandatory Minicamp. “He probably admittedly was heavy at the end of last season as the second half of the year wore on. He learned a lot of lessons himself about what it takes to play tackle in this league. The caliber of players you face every week, and there's no let down. And I think every rookie goes through that phase where they realize, 'Man, whatever I did before I got to do it better if I want to have a chance to be the player I think I'm capable of being.' And JC is capable of being an excellent football player and he really dedicated himself to changing his body like a lot of first-year players going into their second year find ways to do. He looks great, he's in great shape, he's moving really well. I'm excited about where he's at but all the credit goes to him and just understanding what he realized it was going to take to be the player that he wants to be and he dedicated himself to it.”

Latham has been open this offseason about how much heavier he finished last season than he needed to be. He went into detail on the thought process behind staying heavy on purpose at first, the ups and downs of competing at that weight, and the realization that he needed to make a big change in this article.

So not only am I interested in seeing what he looks like back at RT, where he played in college, but I’m also curious to see how his new size impacts his game. His greatest strength has been his impenetrable anchor. Will that change now that he’s lighter? And will the trade off be for added athleticism? Year 2 is going to be a fun watch on the right side of the OL.