Two Titans named to Pro Football Focus’ top-25 interior OL list

There has been a lot of discussion around the decline we saw from the Los Angeles Rams’ offensive line in 2019. Saffold’s departure wasn’t the sole domino to fall, but it was an important one. Excluding a 2015 season where he played just 233 offensive snaps, Saffold has recorded a PFF pass-blocking grade of at least 72.0 in every season since 2012 — he’s a consistently strong performer at the guard position. His grading profile as a run-blocker has really picked up in the last several seasons, as well. Since 2017, the only two guards to record a positively graded run block on a higher percentage of their snaps than Saffold have been Nelson and Brooks. One could be in worse company.

After fitting the good-not-great mold for much of his NFL career, Jones really stepped up his play in 2019 — particularly in pass protection. His 1.8% pressure rate allowed at center for the Titans was a top-five mark at the position, and the only center with a higher PFF pass-blocking grade than Jones (86.8) was Rodney Hudson. He allowed multiple pressures in just one game all season. Even at a position like center, which limits the number of truly destructive pass-protecting performances that we see, that’s an impressive season for Jones. He allowed just two pressures in the team’s final seven games. Tennessee will be hoping that elite play carries over into next year as they look to compete in the AFC South.