Tennessee Titans: Versatility 2017 NFL mock draft

Mar 4, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide tight end O.J. Howard goes through workout drills during the 2017 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

1st round, pick 5: O.J. Howard TE/H-back, Alabama

This one wasn’t that hard. When I think of versatility in this draft, the first name that comes to mind isn’t Howard.

However, think about it. O.J. Howard does play a lot of inline TE, but he also lines up off the line of scrimmage a lot.

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Whether you want to call him an H-back, wing, offset tight end, etc. his role is still the same. He can either seal the edge, run a shovel pass route behind the LOS, run an drag route behind the LOS to get a free release on PA pass plays, or kick the end man on the LOS.

Most of those things are hard/impossible to do from the standard in-line tight end. As we know, Howard can definitely play that position well enough to get drafted in the top 10.

Who knows, maybe taking Howard here would be reason to try to get a late round pick for a talented player like Jalston Fowler who is very good at his job but who doesn’t do much else for the team now that they have designated special teams player.

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