How Recent Draft Trends Could Shape the Tennessee Titans’ Draft

Highlighting recent draft trends and how they could affect the Tennessee Titans in the 2018 draft.

Up until recently, Harold Landry had been one of the most frequently mocked players to the Titans at 25, but seeing his name there always frustrated me. And it’s certainly not because I think he’s a bad player; he is #1 on my wish list for the Titans in this draft. It’s just that every time I saw him mocked that late in the first round I thought to myself, “he won’t really fall that far, will he?” He is a top prospect at a premium position, and it seems like he is much more likely to be drafted before 25.

I have a theory that most mock drafts are more aligned with the analysts’ big boards than with actual drafting trends. Player A might have a higher grade than Player B on an analyst’s big board, but an NFL team may value the position of Player B more than the grade. Drafting trends for each position should have an impact on how a team prepares for the draft. Teams need to have a general idea of what players will be available when it’s their turn to pick so they aren’t scrambling to make a last minute decision. I am confident this is something that teams prepare extensively for but is an afterthought for fans and analysts.

So how could recent draft trends affect the Titans’ draft strategy this year? I decided to look at the first three rounds of the past five drafts and see what the Titans should expect in terms draft flow and outlined different strategies they should use in their allocation of draft capital.