The Titans traded down with Houston (who took Jason Babin) and picked up Ben Troupe with their first 2nd round pick and subsequently Travis Laboy a couple picks later. Troupe showed the Titans flashes for years (much like another TE recently) but could never show up as the consistent play maker they needed him to be.
Babin would have been a nice addition had they stayed put, and would have been an upgrade over Laboy and Troupe for sure. The fact that they drafted Laboy and then Antwan Odom proved they were looking for DE help. The Patriots also took TE Benjamin Watson at the end of the first round, before the Titans drafted Troupe. Worst of all, the rival Indianapolis Colts took star safety Bob Sanders two spots later.
Maybe trading back and collecting picks isn’t always such a good idea.
The raw talent was obviously there so you can’t blame the coaches and scouts too much, but overall the move to trade back was a poor one. The next Tight End to be drafted was Kris Wilson followed by Ben Hartsock in the beginning of the third. While Ben Troupe was able to leap linebackers in a single bound, he only did so every now and then. Contextually the Titans should have stayed put and taken a better player.
Grade: D+