Titans Guard Could Shape 2025 Season

For the Tennessee Titans, the 2025 season is all about building for the future.

Fresh off a 3-14 season, expectations for the Titans are very low entering the 2025 campaign, but there's still good reason to keep an eye on them. They have quite a few young players looking to take the next step forward, and the debut of No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward will be very much worth watching.

In order for Ward to succeed, though, the Titans will have to make sure he stays upright first and foremost. Considering they allowed 52 sacks last season, tied for the fifth most in the league, that will be a tough task.

Left guard Peter Skoronski, the No. 11 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft who's excelled at pass blocking over the past few years, will be particularly responsible for protecting Ward. So much so that CBS Sports' Zachary Pereles named Skoronski as one of 50 under-the-radar players who could help shape the 2025 season as a whole.

"A 2023 first-round pick, Skoronski has been up and down through two NFL seasons," Pereles wrote. "He graded out highly as a pass protector last season but struggled in the run game. Tennessee has spent significant resources on the offensive line over the past two offseasons, and Skoronski living up to his draft status would be an immense help."

Skoronski, who turns 24 later this month, has indeed been much better as a pass blocker than a run blocker. Last season, the former Northwestern star ranked 12th out of 136 qualified guards with a 76.3 pass block grade from Pro Football Focus, but ranked 107th with a 54.4 run block grade. He also allowed just four sacks and no additional quarterback hits on the year.

Ward is essentially being thrust into the fire by joining a team that struggled as much as Tennessee did last year, but if Skoronski and co. can keep his jersey clean, it would go a long way toward boosting his confidence.