A Tennessee Titans mock draft with the Colts loss fresh in my mind.
The Tennessee Titans season is over and as unfortunate as that is, you have to move on and try to figure out what the Titans can do in the future to get better.
With free agency looming, the Titans really have nothing to lose. There is only one “must have” free agent from Tennessee and that is Kenny Vaccaro.
Vaccaro made $1.1 million this year as far as I can tell, and I would probably be willing to push that to $5 million or more pretty easily. In 2019 Vaccaro would be 28 meaning that he probably has at least three good years left in him. This seems like a great chance to lock him down and solidify that young secondary.
With free agency pretty wide open this mock draft will shift focus several times. However, as far as I am concerned, the name of the game this year is getting to the quarterback.
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Too many times quarterbacks just sat in the pocket and surveyed the field while the Titans EDGEs and DL did nothing to get to the QB.
Now sure, the Tennessee Titans finished tied at 16th in the NFL in sacks which is as average as average gets. But only 18 (less than half) of those sacks came from EDGE or DL. The majority came from blitzing LBs or DBs.
I think that is great coaching to get those sacks, but it is time to find a way to get to the QB with just four guys. So how would I do it? Well, here is a Fanspeak mock draft where I try to fix the problem and address some other needs.
FanSided
Round 1, pick 19: Brian Burns EDGE, Florida State
This is difficult because this is more of a “Will Lomas” pick than a “Jon Robinson” pick. I say that because Robinson tends to skew for winners that are four years or so removed from high school. However, Burns just makes too much sense for what the Titans need.
Burns has 23 career sacks in 3 collegiate seasons including 10 this year. He is a speed rusher off the edge much like Harold Landry and I think everyone agrees the more of those guys the Titans can get, the better.
Listed at 6’5, 235 lb. Burns has great length but not great size. No problem for the Titans who can bring him along in 2019 like they did with Harold Landry in 2018. Sharif Finch and Burns would make a great rotation opposite Landry and sometimes Kamalei Correa.
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Round 2, pick 51: Marquise “Hollywood” Brown WR, Oklahoma
Wouldn’t it be nice if the Titans had more speed and someone to consistently threaten down the field? Sure, Taywan Taylor may be that guy, but even if he is, is there anything wrong with having two guys who can burn man coverage and also run themselves open on crossing routes, slants, etc?
I don’t think so and I would love to have a big play threat like Brown on the roster. How could you play the run game honestly with Henry in the backfield and Taywan Taylor, Corey Davis and Hollywood Brown at WR?
Top that off with Delanie Walker and T.J. Hockenson at tight end and you have some matchup nightmares.
Who is T.J. Hockenson? Oh, let me explain.
Round 3, pick 82: T.J. Hockenson TE, Iowa
The Tennessee Titans are set to get a dominant TE prospect from Iowa…no, not that one. Noah Fant will go much earlier than this, but I get some serious George Kittle vibes from Hockenson.
His game starts with just how well he can block. It isn’t really hyperbole to say that if he was 50 pounds heavier he would be one of the best guards in this class. Aside from his size (6’5, 250) and aggression, versatility is another major asset. One reason why he is so effective is that he can line up inline, split wide, as a wing, as a FB and pretty much anywhere else you could imagine.
On top of all of those natural gifts, he has this subtly to his game that is hard to explain. Small things in his routes set up his defenders to fail and he has the innate ability to always find a way to get his body between himself and a defender.
Honestly, if the right WRs aren’t on the board in the 2nd I would have no problem drafting him that high. I wasn’t as high on George Kittle as I should have been, but I won’t make that mistake twice.
Round 4, pick 121: Daniel Wise DT, Kansas
The Tennessee Titans have Daquan Jones and Austin Johnson and their salaries make almost no sense to move on from. A second year in the scheme may make them better and hopefully an offseason with a new S&C program will make them even stouter.
However, in 2019 it isn’t ideal to have more run stuffers than pass rushers at any position really and DT is no different. Wise is someone you have to work in cautiously and sparingly as a pass rusher or someone you want to get upfield quickly.
He could be great as a guy you put out there to give Jurrell Casey some rest and hopefully he can evolve into a consistent pass rush threat similar to what they had in Karl Klug (specifically in his first year).
So that is how I would fix the team in the first four rounds of the 2019 NFL Draft. The pass rush is now younger and more athletic while the passing game is improved with two very difficult matchup problems. How does it look?