Nov 3, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; TTennessee Titans center Lloyd Cushenberry III (79) calls out the audible against the New England Patriots during the first half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Titans Offensive Line Has Stiff Test Ahead of Them

Originally posted on Tennessee Titans on SI
By Luke Hubbard | Last updated Sep 3, 2025 3:00 PM ET

The Tennessee Titans and Denver Broncos square off on Sunday afternoon to open the 2025 NFL season. During the lead up to this game, all the talk has been about how rookie quarterback Cam Ward will handle one of the toughest defenses in the league, but not enough attention has been paid to the trenches.

The Titans have put a lot of money and resources into their offensive line over the past two seasons. In 2024, they signed former Broncos center Lloyd Cushenberry to a lucrative deal before drafting JC Latham seventh overall. This year, the Titans signed two more free agents, tackle Dan Moore Jr. and guard Kevin Zeitler, to help complete that unit.

Last year, the Titans' offensive line wasn't great. They allowed over three sacks per game and were unable to open a lot of holes in the run game. That should change this year. With the signing of Moore, the Titans add a veteran left tackle and allow Latham to move back to the right side, where he played in college. Zeitler also fills a massive hole at right guard and will be able to help Latham out if needed. This offensive line should be much better in 2025, but they have a very stiff test right out the gates.

The Broncos led the league in sacks last year and return their top-eight sack leaders. Nik Bonitto led the way with 13.5 sacks, but Jonathon Cooper (10.5), Zach Allen (8.5), John Franklin-Meyers (7), Dondrea Tillman (5) and Jonah Ellis (5) all had at least five sacks of their own.

Arguably the most difficult part of the Broncos' defense to figure out is where the blitz is coming from. Four of their top six sack leaders were linebackers, and Vance Joseph is one of the best in the business at disguising blitzes.

The Titans' offensive line is going to have to communicate extremely well if they want to keep Cam Ward's jersey clean. The rookie signal caller is intelligent enough to identify and adjust to some of the blitzes Jospeh will throw at him, but there are going to be things he's never seen before in college that catch him up, and they'll have to be ready to help him out.

The Broncos' front seven might be the best front they face all season. If they can survive this task, Titans fans should feel really good about where the offensive line is to start the year.

This article first appeared on Tennessee Titans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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