Tennessee Titans Need a Playmaker

The Titans need to add a playmaker on the defensive line, plain and simple. Derrick Morgan may rise to the potential the Titans initially saw in him when they drafted him with the 16th pick of the 2011 draft, but he’ll never be that huge game changer. The Titans need to find their version of JPP (man does that ever sting having to say that…).

The Titans miss the days of having defensive ends such as Jevon Kearse, also known as “The Freak”, and Kyle Vanden Bosch. Moving Jason Jones to DE appears to have been a bad decision and most likely Jason Jones will leave via free agency. Even with him, the Titans lack any impressive players at DE. This position will be addressed this year, most likely in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft.

The question remains: who will it be?

There are a lot of viable options in the first round, some of which may even fall to the second. There’s Quinton Coples of North Carolina, who’s 6-6, 281 pounds. There are also Melvin Ingram of South Carolina, being 6-2, 276 pounds. The athletic freak most reminiscent of JPP, Whitney Merciless, could still be on the board at the 20th pick. He’s 6-4, 265 pounds. Another option is USC’s Nick Perry, who’s one of the smaller DE’s, being 6-3, 250 pounds.

These are just a few of the options the Titans have for getting a DE in the draft. There’s also Marshall’s DE Vinny Curry who impressed scouts during the Senior Bowl. He’s 6-3 and 265 pounds.

All of these guys are viable options, it just depends on how the Titans staff feels and who they feel fits their needs best. My favorites out of the DE’s are Ingram, Merciless and Curry. Ingram and Merciless both appear to be very athletic players who could put pressure on opposing QB’s and have a lot of upside. Curry is just a solid DE who’d be a good pick, especially if they were able to get them with their 2nd round pick.

Who do you think the Titans should pursue to fill the void at DE? Vote in the poll below or/and leave a comment at the bottom!

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