Tennessee Titans: Five Day 2 EDGEs you should know in the 2018 NFL Draft

After the first round there are still plenty of EDGEs the Tennessee Titans should look at.

I love Tennessee Titans GM Jon Robinson, but I don’t think that he is going to make the move I want him to in the 2018 NFL Draft.

What I would love to see, is moving up into the top 15/20 and getting a guy like Marcus Davenport or Leighton Vander Esch. Both of those guys are impact players at the Titans two big positions of need.

Making a move like that while only giving up a 3rd round pick would be outstanding, but I don’t see Jon Robinson coming away from draft weekend without at least 6 picks.

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So, with that in mind I have made peace with the fact that if somehow LVE drops to the 25th (he won’t) then they should be looking really hard at Day 2 pass rushers. Heck, even if LVE doesn’t drop they could still go with a heavy run presence to pair with Jayon Brown in the future like Rashaan Evans.

Either way, the consequences on the Titans draft are the same: EDGE rusher on Day 2.

I think there are probably 8 EDGEs that get taken on Day 2, but these are the 5 I would love the Titans to look at.

1. Hercules Mata’afa EDGE, Washington State

There are a lot of things I have seen about Mata’afa when people explain why he might fall:

-He didn’t play EDGE in college

-He played against a weak group of OL in the PAC 12

-Even though he played DT he isn’t big enough to play EDGE

I guess that makes sense, but if he is there in the 2nd round I hope the Titans run up to the podium laughing because of the steal they got. Mata’afa has so much potential and can be used all over the field.

All he needs is a good group of coaches to help make that transition easier, someone like Dean Peas who helped develop and run one of the best defenses over the last decade.

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2. Josh Sweat EDGE, FSU

Though a lot of the same criticism applies to Sweat that applies to Mata’afa (though Sweat hasn’t even been close to as productive as Hercules) people seem to like him more.

The reason for that is his freakish athleticism. Speaking of “freak” I have seen people compare him to Javon Kearse, which is insane but his combine numbers back it up. While I am very hesitant on him, if the Titans think they can refine him, he has the traits to be special.

3. Ogbonnia Okoronkwo EDGE, Oklahoma

OO is someone that I loved during the season, but for whatever reason when I go back and watch his every snap he doesn’t pop as much as I wanted.

Don’t get me wrong, he is still really solid and does a lot of things that are underrated (can drop into coverage pretty well) but he isn’t elite at anything. I could see him as a heavy rotational guy in year one until the Titans figure out the perfect way to use him.

4. Duke Ejiofor EDGE, Wake Forrest

A lot of people don’t really know him, but Duke reminds me a lot of a poor-man’s Joey Bosa. If he would have run at the combine and cleared a 4.82 in the 40 (which he definitely would have) then he would have qualified for this list:

He is great at using his hands and getting through/past blockers without ever stopping his momentum. That and his ability to counter should make him really attractive in the 2nd round.

5. Shaquem Griffin EDGE, UCF

Griffin is a crazy evaluation. When you evaluate him as an EDGE, here are the negatives:

-A little small

-Only has one hand.

Positives

-Extremely athletic

-Amazingly productive (last two years 33.5 TFLs, 18.5 sacks, 2 interceptions)

-Great character/locker room guy

-High energy

-Does the dirty work

-Had more interceptions in college than Myles Jack

I don’t know man, I have a hard time not loving him even if the Titans do “reach” a little and take him in the 2nd round. He has everything that I look for in a player and he is a guy that people love off the field.

Give me him and LVE in the first two rounds and I am a happy man.