2016 NFL Draft: Tennessee Titans Are on the Clock
By Les Bailey
After finishing 3-14 in the 2015 NFL regular season, the Tennessee Titans find themselves in “Position A” when the 2016 NFL Draft starts on April 28th, just a short 113 days away.
The Titans and fans can thank two people who are no longer with the franchise, Ken Whisenhunt and Ruston Webster for doing their due diligence and drafting Marcus Mariota last year when the fans felt they were set at quarterback with Zach Mettenberger.
With the franchise quarterback already in Music City, the new general manager and head coach will have a lot of options when Commissioner Roger Goodell opens the ceremony in Chicago.
Most fans feel like the teams greatest needs at this time are on the offensive line, but I tend to agree with Delanie Walker when he was on the final episode of the J-Mac Show hosted by ESPN and The Tennessean.
When asked about the offensive line, Walker had this to say:
"Tight end Delanie Walker on current group: ‘They’re too young’"
The Titans have too many young offensive linemen, and shouldn’t spend another high draft pick on another one who needs to be trained.
"We don’t need another young guy on the line. We have eight picks, so use them wisely or trade to get older guys to come in and play the line — savvy vets, eight-year guys or seven-year guys that understand how to win and know the game."
The Todd McShay 1.0 Mock Draft already has Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa slated for the Titans with the first pick and Memphis State quarterback Paxton Lynch going to the quarterback needy Cleveland Browns.
The Browns 49ers and Rams are the only teams drafting in the top ten who need a quarterback, which should give the Titans a ton of leverage with almost four months to make a deal that could net a lot of draft picks this year. Now they only need to hire a general manager who knows how to market that pick correctly.
The San Diego Chargers and Baltimore Ravens are set at quarterback drafting 3rd and 4th, leaving the San Francisco 49ers drafting 5th who may or may not need a quarterback based on the status of Colin Kaepernick and are projected to snag Cal quarterback Jared Goff.
The Dallas Cowboys need a project who will eventually take over for Tony Romo and will not pay to moove up for a franchise quarterback in this draft. Who knows, owner Jerry Jones is smitten with Johnny Manziel.
The Lions, Dolphins and Jaguars are all set with franchise quarterbacks leaving the St. Louis Rams drafting tenth again and still needing a quarterback.
The Tennessee Titans need playmakers on offense. They need speed and durability at the wide receiver position, and need a stud that Marcus Mariota can hand the ball to who can move the chains when needed.
I feel like David Cobb and Antonio Andrews are good options, but we all saw what Todd Gurley was able to do in St. Louis and I feel like we need some help at running back either in the draft of through free agency.
The Titans finished the regular season ranked 25th in rushing offense and had no one who made the top 30 list for running backs.
Andrews carried the ball 143 times for 520 yards and three touchdowns. That’s pathetic. To add to that, tight end Delanie Walker led all receivers with 1088 yards further making my case for more playmakers on the offense.
Next: Tennessee Titans GM Search Update
The Tennessee Titans have all the options this year during the draft and it would be a shame to not come out of it without a lot of players to cull through during training camp.
Add that to in excess of $25 million in Salary cap to spend during free agency and we will see how committed the Adams Family is to putting a viable product on the field at Nissan Stadium in 2016.