Tennessee Titans GM Jon Robinson’s case for Executive of the Year

Forget the curse, I want Tennessee Titans GM Jon Robinson to get the recognition he deserves.

There is a curse involved in the award, but I don’t care I think that it is time that the league recognizes the great job that Jon Robinson has done as the Tennessee Titans GM.

Most of the offseason awards have more to do with popularity and style over the best case for the award and substance. Case and point, Bill Belichick has only won the Coach of the Year award three times in the last two decades.

That is the same number as Lovie Smith, Marvin Lewis and Dick Jauron combined for over that time…so yea.

However, with the Titans surging right now there is a real case for Robinson as the Executive of the Year despite the small market hurdle that the Titans face.

Maybe the best way to explain why this year is special for the Titans despite another 9-7 season is that Ryan Tannehill and A.J. both should be considered favorites for post season awards themselves. Neither of those players were on the team last year.

Even if you wipe out trading the projected 118th pick to the Miami Dolphins for one of the best QBs in the NFL this year, the draft alone this year was great for the Titans and Robinson.

Draft class return on investment

Obviously the class is headlined by A.J. Brown and Jeffery Simmons, and while Brown has put up the flashy stats it is also important to see that Simmons has been a complete game changer when he is on the field.

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Simmons has reset the line of scrimmage and found ways to bully offensive linemen into the laps of running backs and quarterbacks since he played his first game. Oh and he is doing that all just a few months after an ACL injury and with little to no practice reps.

Nate Davis has a lot to learn after struggling with injuries early in the season and being forced into action. Despite being a player that clearly needed a year to develop before seeing playing time, he has started to get better as the season progresses.

If the Titans can get a good offensive line coach, Nate Davis could take a huge step forward this offseason even though I think the team will probably bring in another iOL to compete with him for that right guard spot.

Amani Hooker and David Long have also been on the field their fair share this season and they are being eased into this defense while sitting behind very good players.

Don’t sleep on what could happen at EDGE.

I think the EDGE depth chart will look nearly unrecognizable in 2020, but maybe not for the reason you think.

Harold Landry is going to start and he absolutely deserves to given just how good he has been for the Titans for two years. Opposite him, I expect the Titans to either spend some money or a high draft pick on another “every down” EDGE.

Where it gets interesting is that Derick Roberson and D’Andre Walker will probably round out the depth behind those two players.

Roberson has already shown that he can be an impact player with 3 sacks in just 24 pass rush attempts. Meanwhile, Walker was put on I.R. before the season started and Dane Brugler had him ranked as a top-50, saying:

"“Overall, Walker has a toned, flexible frame with the balanced athleticism and competitive make-up to drop, rush the passer or set the edge vs. the run, projecting as a solid edge rusher in a 3-4 scheme”"

With 7.5 sacks in his final year at Georgia along with 25 TFLs in his final two years, you would expect that at the very least the depth at the position is already going to be upgraded just by virtue of a healthy Walker and a refined Roberson.

Beware the curse

I joked about a curse attached to this award earlier, so let me explain what I mean.

There seems to be a weird cycle of a GM winning this award and then immediately falling out of favor or running their team in the ground. It takes a few years for them to do enough wrong to actually get fired because…well I mean they were JUST named the Executive of the Year.

From 2009-2016 there were eight winners. Seven of those eight were fired within the next four seasons and the other winner was Jerry Jones who is the owner of the team and obviously can’t get fired.

FiveThirtyEight did a great job covering this earlier this year, with the takeaway quote being:

"Perhaps owners and league observers are giving GMs both too much credit when things go well and too much blame when things come up pear-shaped. Half of the honored executives during the past decade worked as GMs of the Colts and the Chiefs, suggesting that the teams they inherited might have been just as important to their success."

I agree with that because like with all the awards, it is about recognizing the shiniest thing in the room and putting it on display. Instead of looking at teams with little to no talent that are built up slowly and effectively, it is about which GM brought in a flashy QB or won fluke games.

If you really want to award the person who put together the best team top to bottom and found a way to prepare for catastrophe without making bad decisions or overreacting then the award is Jon Robinson’s to lose.