Five potential Redskins targets to follow as legal tampering begins

No. 2 – Tennessee Titans OT Jack Conklin

This is a peculiar match, as the Redskins need more security at offensive tackle with Trent Williams on the way out, but need the right fit on the left side. Tennessee Titans free agent Jack Conklin isn’t necessarily that, as he’s played at right tackle for his entire Titans career.

Conklin’s injury history, combined with his affinity for right tackle, makes it somewhat confusing that the Redskins are reportedly interested in competing for his services. Conklin did play primarily at left tackle in college, so he has the experience, but making the switch at the NFL level might be a challenge for him.

That said, there’s never been a better time for Conklin to make that kind of switch, as he’s coming off a 2019 campaign that served as somewhat of a rebound, after middling for the two years following his All-Pro rookie season. Conklin graded out with a score of 78.0 on Pro Football Focus for the season, earning a reputation as a mauler in run blocking sets.

Conklin is a bit inconsistent as a pass blocker, and perhaps too much so for his reported price tag of over $15 million. But at just 25 years old, with his injuries supposedly behind him, the arrow could start to point back up to Conklin’s peak days of the past. In his rookie season, Conklin was a revelation, and with stability and time to adjust, he could get back to that.

Conklin reportedly has another able and motivated suitor in the Jets, so if the Redskins want him, they’ll have to move fast, and talk money. It’s not a risk I’d jump at taking, switching Conklin to left tackle, but he’d bring the physicality the Redskins desire, and he still has long-term upside at this point, at around $5 million cheaper than Williams.

Update: Jack Conklin signed with the Cleveland Browns.