Tennessee Titans: Second Round Possibilities
By Les Bailey
The Tennessee Titans are on the clock for the first pick on Friday evening in the 2015 NFL Draft and there are several directions that Ruston Webster and Ken Whisenhunt take at this point. They got their franchise quarterback with the second pick Thursday evening, now it’s time to get to work and build a playoff team in Nashville.
The obvious great player still on the board is Randy Gregory from Nebraska
The 33rd pick is a coveted pick around NFL war rooms, and there is a possibility that someone will offer the Titans enough later picks that would motivate them to trade down. After all, they need almost everything and more picks would go a long way to filling those holes.
I’m of the opinion that the Titans are loaded with mid to late round picks who are pretty good. So why not use this pick to add some more star power to a very mediocre lineup. They already have a stable full of mediocre players so why add more when they are in such a great draft position.
So let’s draft another great player in the second round!
The obvious great player still on the board is Randy Gregory from Nebraska. We all know about the red flags, but the Denver Broncos took a chance last night on Shane Ray, even traded up to make sure they got him, so the question becomes has he learned his lesson?
Randy Gregory is a great pass rusher, and is the insurance policy that protects the defense if Brian Orakpo goes down to injury. The question that lingers, can the Tennessee Titans organization provide enough support around Gregory to take a chance on his off field problems.
The other options at 33 is to add some protection and weapons for Marcus Mariota. Let’s talk offensive line first.
T.J. Clemmings from Pittsburgh and someone Mariota is familiar with, Jake Fisher from Oregon are still on the board.
Both are right tackles and that is a high need position for the Titans since they cut Michael Oher and Michael Roos retired. Fisher is bigger at 6’6 306 but Clemmings is ranked slightly higher on the draft boards although the difference is minimal.
La’el Collins the best tackle on the board and is still available, but his situation is very uncertain at this point, and the Titans would need to understand his situation before making a commitment on this kid from LSU.
The other need is another wide reciever. An outside threat that can stretch the field and get people out of the box. I think there will be some pretty good receivers available in the third round, but I hold that the really good ones will be off the board by the time the Titans pick again.
Devin Smith from Ohio State, Jaelen Strong from Arizona State, Devin Funchess and Dorial Green-Beckham are still on the board. Many expected some of these receiver to be gone by now, but all are possible targets for Marcus Mariota.
I really like Devin Smith from the National Champion Ohio State Buckeyes and am surprised he isn’t gone by now. This is a quality receiver at 6′ 0′ almost 200 pounds who has 4.42 speed. He has played in a big time program and the one thing I learned from spending 18 years in Florida, under Urban Meyer he is well coached to move to the NFL.
Dorial Green-Beckham from Oklahoma is a proto-typical NFL wide receiver and is probably the best player on the board, but because he has some red flags, is still available.
Beckham is 6’5″ 237 pounds with 4.49 speed who will make someone a nice Red Zone threat. Although I like Smith better, Green-Beckham would make a nice target for Mariota in his first year under center in Music City.
I really like Tyler Lockett from Kansas State as well. Lockett is a multiple threat player who runs well after the catch and can return punts. I think he will be available in the third round and should be a on the Titans list for Friday night.
I’m not big on picking a running back here, but Ameer Abdullah from Nebraska is still available and would be a nice option for Mariota to hand the ball to when he needs a first down.
Don’t forget, the second round starts an hour earlier tonight at 7PM Eastern Time, and they will draft rounds two and three.
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