Tennessee Titans scrimmage draft: Our experts make their picks
By Will Lomas
Mike Moraitis’ Tennessee Titans offense
Personnel: 3 WR, 1RB, 1TE set
QB-Marcus Mariota
RB-Dion Lewis
WR-Corey Davis
WR-Kalif Raymond
WR-Taywan Taylor
TE-Anthony Firkser
LT-Taylor Lewan
LG-Kevin Pamphile
C-Ben Jones
RG-Nate Davis
RT-Dennis Kelly
Another stacked part of this team I’ve drafted is on the offensive line. I basically have the entire starting five upfront, with one small caveat: I took right guard Kevin Pamphile early on, but couldn’t pass on fellow right guard Nate Davis later in the draft.
Therefore, I’m going to move Pamphile to left guard in this situation and keep the rookie Davis in his natural spot on the right side. Pamphile played well at left tackle in place of Taylor Lewan early last season, so I don’t think it’ll be too much of a stretch for Pamphile to play at left guard.
Other than that, I’ve got Dad in his normal spot and Dennis Kelly at right tackle. I drafted Kelly ahead of Jack Conklin because he’s simply shown me more at right tackle than Conklin has after the 2018 season. Ben Jones rounds that group out at center.
The position I might have slept on was wide receiver. Yes, I have No. 1 wideout Corey Davis, who looks to be emerging as a star in camp, but I’m pretty thin otherwise.
I’m going with a three-receiver set, so Kalif Raymond will be on the outside and Taywan Taylor will play in the slot. Tight end Anthony Firkser is a solid pass-catcher and blocker, but he’s no Delanie Walker.
The Titans are expected to use a run-first offense, and I certainly have the O-line do that effectively, even though running back Dion Lewis isn’t ideal for that kind of offense and only averaged 3.3 yards per carry last season. Still, he was the best back on the board with an injured Derrick Henry out of the mix and David Fluellen being Will’s default running back.
Quarterback Marcus Mariota should have plenty of time to throw the ball, and he can use Lewis as an outlet if nothing develops over the middle or on the outside. Will’s cornerbacks are very good, but great protection means those corners have to do their job for longer, which can be a recipe for disaster on defense.