Tennessee Titans Roster Profile: OT Andre Dillard

Welcome to Music City Miracles’ Tennessee Titans 2023 Roster Profile! Between now and August, MCM will feature more than two dozen talents. The main goal is to highlight underrated contributors and key rotational players. We’ll throw in the odd superstar or roster-bubble player, but we’re mainly focused on spotlighting the middle of the roster. That’s where key depth helps define a roster’s ceiling.

Today, we’re analyzing offensive tackle Andre Dillard.

Basic Info

Height: 6-foot-5

Weight: 315

College: Washington State

Entered League: No. 22 overall selection of the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2019 NFL Draft

Experience: 5

Years with team: 1

Contract Status

“Andre Dillard signed a 3 year, $29,000,000 contract with the Tennessee Titans, including a $5,990,000 signing bonus, $13,000,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $9,666,667. In 2023, Dillard will earn a base salary of $1,010,000 and a signing bonus of $5,990,000, while carrying a cap hit of $2,531,521 and a dead cap value of $10,000,000.” Spotrac

The Good

The Titans signed Andre Dillard to a three-year contract this offseason to replace Dennis Daley at left tackle. They also released Taylor Lewan from his contract, which was an inevitable transaction given Lewan’s recent string of injuries. Dillard is a bit of an unknown, but should represent an upgrade on Daley, who was arguably the worst starting offensive tackle in the league throughout 2022.

Dillard was limited to 37 offensive snaps as a backup with the Eagles last season. He played 337 snaps at left tackle during the 2021 season. This larger sample size offered a more glowing review of Dillard’s abilities. Pro Football Focus assigned Dillard an impressive pass-blocking grade of 71.7 in 2021. Dillard was credited with allowing just one sack.

The Bad

Dillard was prone to injury throughout his four-year stint with the Eagles. Dillard suffered a season-ending torn biceps injury in August of 2020. He never quite recovered from that setback. Jordan Mailata seized that opportunity to become the Eagles’ new full-time starting tackle.

Dillard also dealt with a knee injury in 2021. This past season, he spent four weeks on IR with an undisclosed injury. Much like last season, the Titans currently lack the tackle depth to withstand a multi-week injury to their starting left tackle. Dillard must prove capable of staying healthy for the Titans.

2023 Outlook:

Dillard is arguably the biggest unknown on the Titans roster. Not only is he a recent addition, but injuries and inconsistent play have prevented Dillard from settling into a long-term role. Dillard started just nine career contests for the Eagles despite being a first-round selection.

The Titans don’t have a long-term solution at left tackle. Rookie left guard Peter Skoronski is capable of kicking outside in case Dillard struggles or gets hurt again, but the Titans would prefer to keep him inside. Nicholas Petit-Frere is focused on playing right tackle. There isn’t another young tackle on the Titans roster with starting-caliber potential.

Dillard is crucial to Tennessee’s efforts to field an improved offensive line in 2023.