Tennessee Titans: Is CB Vernon Hargreaves a 2016 Draft fit?

It was apparent during the Tennessee Titans week 12 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars that without a pass rush, this defensive secondary can do little to stop even a questionable quarterback with a good wide receiver.

It was a good thing that Marcus Mariota had a good day running the football, and Dorial Green-Beckham had a breakout day in the Jags secondary or this could have quickly turned into another loss for the good guys.

Jaguars second-year quarterback Blake Bortles looked like a sure Pro Bowl selection in the loss when he passed for 322 yards, and five touchdowns on a day when they were clearly missing downfield options.

Wide receiver Allen Hurns was out with injuries and replaced by backup, Marqise Lee but Allen Robinson went off for went 10 receptions, 153 yards and three touchdowns.

Everytime the Jags needed a first down or score, it seemed like the talented second-year receiver out of Penn State was open and catching a pass.

In fact, if the Titans want to stay competitive in the quickly improving AFC South division, they are going to need some help in the secondary.

The Houston Texans are making progress with DeAndre Hopkins and his 1169 yards on the year. When and if they ever get their quarterback situation sorted out to help out one of the best defenses in the league, they could quickly vault to the top of this division, maybe even as soon as this year.

The Indianapolis Colts have a nice stable of young wide outs as well with T.Y. Hilton and Donte Moncrief waiting in the wings alongside rookie Phillip Dorsett.

It’s not going to get any easier as we move forward into 2016 and beyond.

Most fans would like to see a big offensive lineman in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft, but some are projecting the Titans might well be better served if they take a corner back with their first pick which should be pretty good based on their 2015 record.

Vernon Hargreaves III is a 5′ 11″ 198 corner at Florida and is already being compared to the likes of Darrell Revis and Deion Sanders.

The Fansided Staff says that the Gator is a certified stud who can take away half of the field from opposing offenses and shut down the their best receiver.

Hargreaves is a Junior at the University of Florida and Chase Goodbread at NFL.com is saying he will declare for the 2016 draft.

"“We’ve been talking about it. It’s not something we’ve been trying to hide. I most likely am going to declare for the NFL and see where it goes from there,” Hargreaves said after Saturday’s SEC title game,according to the Palm Beach Post."

He earned the starting job in Gainesville during his Freshman year over veterans Loucheiz Purifoy and Marcus Roberson and has been a staple on the Gator defense every since!

The current projections as we head into week 13 is that the Titans will be picking second behind the Cleveland Browns in next spring’s draft.

With the New York Jets, New England Patriots remaining on the schedule and two divisional matchups with the Texans and Colts to end the season, there are not going to be too many wins for the young Titans to get, unless they get lucky.

I have felt that Perrish Cox has done a good job this year, especially when the guys up front are able to get pressure on quarterbacks, but Blidi Wreh-Wilson and Coty Sensabaugh have been burnt too many times, even in games when Jason McCourty has been on the field.

It’s likely that veteran safety Michael Griffin will become a cap casualty next year, and that will add pressure to get some help in the secondary during the draft.

Griffin leads this defense in solo tackles with 46, and is a leader on and off the field for this young defense. I would hope that they can find a way to keep him around, but they will need to replace him if he leaves.