Tennessee Titans Draft Overview

The Tennessee Titans draft of 2012 follows a similar pattern to last years draft.
The Titans made a splash on the offensive and defensive side of the ball.

With their first pick they selected wide receiver Kendall Wright from Baylor University. Wright is a small, fast, and dynamic playmaker who will add another weapon for Jake Locker and the now ‘deep’ Titans offense. This pick is similar to  last years first round pick of Locker in that they were both somewhat shockers. Both times the Titans were expected to go defense and they went offense.

Munchak, Reinfeldt, and Webster seem to have different priorities and plans for this Titans team compared to the Fisher regime. I believe they see this Titans team become a high powered offense the likes of the Saints, Packers, or Patriots. A few trends ar0se later in the draft.

The Titans 2nd round pick was UNC linebacker Zack Brown. Brown runs a 4.4 forty and has all the tools to be a playmaker for the Titans defense. His only con is that reportedly, he is “allergic to contact”. I find that hard to believe, from what I see it is just his tackling technique and approach. This pick mirrors the Akeem Ayers pick of last years draft as well. Both linebackers slid out of the 1st round because of one flaw, Brown’s being physicalness, and Ayers’ being speed.

The Titans 3rd round pick was Michigan DT Mike Martin. Martin is a run stuffing DT, who will do all the dirty work for the Titans defensive line. In the 3rd round of last years draft the Titans selected Jurrell Casey who is also a DT. I believe Martin and Casey will anchor the middle of the Titans D line and Klug will rotate in specifically in passing situations.

In rounds 4-7 the Titans addressed their need at corner, Sensabaugh, their lack of depth at safety, Martin, their need at DE, Solomon, and the wild card of the bunch was Taylor Thompson the TE from SMU.

The Taylor Thompson pick speaks volumes about the plan the front office has for this Titans team. Not only did the Titans trade up to pick a TE, keep in mind they already have two qualified starters in Cook and Stevens, but they traded up to pick a TE that played DE for the majority of his college career. Titans brass has stated they plan on using him as a “new-age” pass catching tight end, similar to Graham in NO, or Gronk in NE. The Titans now have an offense which headlines Jake Locker, Chris Johnson, Kenny Britt, Kendall Wright, Nate Washington, Damian Williams, and Jared Cook. Not too mention, say Thompson pans out and is another playmaker at TE, and Lavelle Hawkins continues to add valuable depth at WR. The Titans could have a premier offense.

The wild card in all of this is the lack of attention payed to the offensive line in the draft. I feel the front office is happy with the addition of  Hutchinson at G and that either Leroy Harris or Eugene Amano will play the other G. That leaves the C spot open for a battle between whoever is left between Amano and Harris, Matthews, and Vlachos the UDFA from Alabama.

Be sure to hit us up on Facebook and Twitter.

Also be sure to follow me on Twitter, @Rusty_Griff