Dan Moore Important to Protect Titans Rookie from Jaguars Attackers

When talking about the most important players on a National Football League team, it always goes straight to the guy leading the huddle, of course, it's the quarterback. In Jacksonville, that's no exception as Trevor Lawrence is always the center of attention. That's why the players at the position get paid what they do.

Besides the 32 starters in the league, roughly 1,622 other players suit up every week in the pursuit of a Super Bowl title. That's why, when the Pittsburgh Steelers announced the extension of 2021 NFL Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt to an average of $41 million per year, he became known as the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL. Factoring in QBs, Watt is only at No. 15.

In NFL.com's "Most important non-QB for every NFL team", players from every franchise were listed who writer Jared Dubin feels will go a long way in determining their club's success. The Jaguars' representative on the list is their top pick and most talked-about rookie, WR/CB Travis Hunter.

As for the AFC South, Tennessee will battle Liam Coen's Jags in the quest to knock the Houston Texans from their first-place perch. The Titans are another team looking towards the future with the guy selected one pick higher than Hunter, QB Cam Ward.

To protect their future, the franchise paid a player reportedly on the outs in Pittsburgh as Ward's chief protector, Left Tackle Dan Moore Jr., NFL.com selected Moore as the Titans' most important non-QB.

"Last year's No. 1 overall pick, Caleb Williams, came into his rookie season with a supporting cast that looked strong on the surface but was revealed to be not be so thanks to a combination of porous offensive line play and dreadful play-calling and scheming." 

"The Titans have surrounded this year's No. 1 pick, Cam Ward, with a similar-looking cast of players, and they'll be hoping against hope that their investment on Moore to protect Ward's blind side pays off so that he can have a normal rookie year, rather than having to run for his life as Williams often did during his own debut campaign. (And hoping that Ward does a better job of playing on time than did Williams, who often exacerbated the line issues by holding the ball for way too long.)"

Will Dan Moore Jr. be able to help Ward get off to a quicker start to his NFL career than those who came before him, or will he not be able to help the intense pass rushers looking to feast on the rookie? Guys like Travon Walker will be looking to exploit Moore's weaknesses when the Titans play the Jaguars twice in the latter part of their 2025 schedule.

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