Much of the talk this preseason has been centered on the new-look Tennessee Titans offensive line and how they will come together. After suffering through a miserable 2023 campaign, the team set out to overhaul the unit, and drafting offensive tackle JC Latham was part of that plan.
After a solid training camp and preseason, Latham looked comfortable in the two games he played, albeit a small sample size. In all, he played 50 total snaps against the San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints and by all accounts excelled.
“It’s more intricate than in college,” Latham said of NFL pass-blocking, via the Nashville Post. “You got a whole bunch of different angles, different hand strikes that you can use, a whole bunch of different things that you’ll see. In college, it was just get back, strike, win. Now it’s a lot more [complex], but you got to be able to handle all that stuff.”
Aided by new Titans offensive line coach Bill Callahan, Latham appears to be making a smooth transition to left tackle after being solely a right tackle at the University of Alabama. That move and his success in that transformation are key to the Titans’ offense in 2024, especially protecting the blind side of quarterback Will Levis.
Despite being a work in progress, Latham has shown signs that he is up to the task. In the preseason, PFF gave him an overall 73.2 percent pass-blocking grade. While these reps weren’t against the best pass rushers in the game, his work in practice against the Titans rushers more than made up for that.
Now the challenge is real and how well Latham holds up against elite pass rushers in the regular season will be on full display. Everyone will see if he is ready to take that next step against the Chicago Bears in the season opener.
