Titans draft:
1st round, pick 19: Jeffery Simmons, DT
-Simmons has been an absolute stud this year. Looking at his work on the goal line you can see why the Titans are so brutally effective in short downs and distances. The goal line stands against the L.A. Chargers and New England Patriots as well as the 4th down attempts vs the Baltimore Ravens were all heavily influenced by Simmons.
Throw in a few sacks, a tipped pass on the goal line turned interception and basically stealing the ball away from Ronnie Stanley and you can understand why the sky is the limit for him.
The steal of the 1st round.
2nd round, pick 51: A.J. Brown, WR
-If Simmons was the steal of the first round, then Brown was the steal of the draft. I have written thousands and thousands of words about how remarkable A.J. Brown has been as a rookie as he has rewritten the history books.
3rd round, pick 82: Nate Davis, IOL
-Davis was a developmental player rushed onto the field too soon, but instead of giving up or getting lost in the weeds he has progressively gotten better and better and now he is doing a great job run blocking for Derrick Henry and the Titans rushing attack.
4th round, pick 116: Amani Hooker, S
-Hooker has seen a lot of time on the field and if he would just get out of his own head and stop thinking so much he would have had three interceptions this season including one last week against the Ravens.
5th round, pick 168: D’Andre Walker, EDGE
-Put on I.R. in training camp.
6th round, pick 188: David Long, LB
-Like Dre Greenlaw for the 49ers, Long was thrust into action because of injuries and he did not disappoint. With great speed and aggression, you can always find #51 around the ball but his biggest problem is wrapping up and bringing his feet which is something that he has to work on given how undersized he is.
UDFA: Derick Roberson, EDGE
-I wasn’t going to look at UDFAs too hard, but Roberson beat the New Orleans Saints offensive line for two sacks in his first game and he has looked like the perfect replacement for the injured Cameron Wake.
Class thoughts:
Again, to me this isn’t really close. Robinson did a much better job getting the better receiver of the two second rounders (despite having a lower pick) and a defensive lineman who hasn’t racked up sacks but who has made a ton of plays for this defense.
Nate Davis is a solid right guard who should get much better and more consistent this offseason, and rotational players like Amani Hooker, David Long will continue to see an uptick in time.
Meanwhile D’Andre Walker and Derick Roberson could see bigger roles in 2020 with Cameron Wake and Kamalei Correa both potentially gone after this year.