Tennessee Titans: Senior Bowl watchlist, 2020 NFL Draft

Why the Senior Bowl is so important for Tennessee Titans fans to watch.

If history tells us anything about the Senior Bowl, it is that the Tennessee Titans take the practices and games very seriously.

In fact, to let you know how seriously they take it I’ll point you to a trend that I noticed last year. Ever since Jon Robinson was hired as the Titans GM he has drafted a player from the Senior Bowl.

Not impressed? Alright,well what if I told you that every third round draft pick that Robinson has made since becoming the GM has been a player from the Senior Bowl.

Seriously, you still aren’t seeing a trend. Fine, what if I told you that I could narrow it down even further and tell you that every third round pick that Jon Robinson has made as the Titans GM has been a player at the Senior Bowl who didn’t play for a power-5 conference?

If you don’t see a trend there then I can’t help you.

So, the next question should be to ask who fits that criteria this year at the Senior Bowl? Well, luckily I made this handy watchlist so that you could follow along throughout the week. I’m going to break it down by position group.

Quarterbacks and Kickers:

Jordan Love QB, Utah State

Tyler Bass K, Georgia Southern

I lumped these two together because there was only one from each position group that fit the criteria we needed. Also, I don’t imagine many of you would have even seen Bass if I hadn’t lumped him in with a quarterback.

Most likely to be the pick: Jordan Love

Again, with such a small group this probably doesn’t do a great job of narrowing down the prospects. Love is likely to be gone by this pick because he has the physical tools to make impressive plays with his legs and down the field.

With how this draft is constructed, I don’t think Love will be a fit for the Titans because he is basically a worse version of Jameis Winston coming out of college in terms of his consistency and variance.

Is Love going to turn the ball over in the NFL? Yes. Will he elevate the talent around him? No. But, will he help a team win games? Still probably no.

Running backs and wide receivers:

Antonio Gibson RB*, Memphis

Antonio Gandy-Golden WR, Liberty

Chase Claypool WR, Notre Dame

James Proche WR, SMU

You probably noticed the asterisk I had next to Gibson’s name. That is because his career at Memphis was spent at wide receiver which makes sense because of his build. He did average 11+ yards on 33 rushes last year so we will see what he can do in Mobile, but this is a transition for him.

Most likely to be the pick: Antonio Gandy-Golden

The first thing you have to look for in a WR that Titans GM Jon Robinson will draft, is production.

Both Gandy-Golden and Proche have plenty of that and would be good candidates for the Titans. My biggest concern is that I don’t really know which of the two the Titans would prefer.

In this instance I went with a guy who might have more upside because of his sheer size and his ability to grab the ball out of the air, but I don’t know where his fit would be in the Titans offense? Maybe as a red zone target as a rookie to replace Tajae Sharpe and then if he shines you think about him as a cheaper version of Corey Davis?

Tight Ends:

Josiah Deguara TE, Cincinnati

Adam Trautman TE, Dayton

Harrison Bryant TE, Florida Atlantic

Charlie Taumoepeau TE, Portland State

Jeremy Chinn TE, Southern Illinois

The Tennessee Titans are pretty set at tight end as far as I am concerned. Even if they move on from Delanie Walker (which seems likely barring a massive pay cut) the Titans have every tool in the toolbox.

If they want a blocker they have MyCole Pruitt, if they want a receiver they have Anthony Firkser and if they want a little bit of both plus a guy with serious YAC ability then they have Jonnu Smith.

Most likely to be the pick: Josiah Deguara

I think the player on this list most likely to be drafted by the Tennessee Titans this year is Adam Trautman because he is a physical specimen, but third round is way too early for him.

Instead, the Titans would probably lean towards Deguara who has 13 TDs in the last two years and his seven in 2019 were more than the three players tied behind him combined (two each).

If you want to add another guy who can line up on the line of scrimmage and block and then come in and fill the role of Anthony Firkser if he needs to, then Deguara seems like the best candidate to do that.

Offensive line:

Ben Bartch OT, Saint John’s

Keith Ismael iOL, San Diego State

Matt Hennessy iOL, Temple

Josh Jones OT, Houston

Alex Taylor OT, South Carolina State

Matt Peart OT, Connecticut

This group is really interesting because there are going to be a lot of small school guys with crazy measurables here. Jones is 6’7, Peart is 6’7, Bartch is 6’6, and Taylor is 6’9 (!).

Since the bye week I think the Tennessee Titans offensive line has been a lot more sound and as we enter free agency I really wonder if they are going to just roll the dice with the starters from this year to see if a year of consistency and chemistry can give the team what they saw through the first two weeks of the playoffs.

With two offensive tackles as free agents and with depth being a big question, this is an important group to pay attention to.

Most likely to be the pick: Matt Peart

If the Titans lose Dennis Kelly to free agency, bringing in Peart gives them another tall offensive lineman and one who has played multiple positions at the college level. I don’t know whether or not I trust Keith Carter to develop Peart even a little bit, but there really isn’t a choice in this exercise.

Could Peart come in and be a swing player to take the roster spot of Dennis Kelly or Kevin Pamphile? Sure, though I don’t really know how much that is worth to the franchise and taking any OL at this point would be a head scratcher.

Front seven:

Trevis Gipson DE, Tulsa

Akeem Davis-Gaither LB, App State

Logan Wilson LB, Wyoming

It is a little bit surprising, but right now I don’t think there are any non-power five defensive linemen on the Senior Bowl roster. In fact, just three front seven players fit the criteria the Titans have used in the third round.

Most likely to be the pick: Logan Wilson

This is probably a little bit early for Wilson, but there is no doubt that Robinson and the Titans brass will have a really close eye on him throughout this process. Why? Becuase this guy can absolutely fill out a stat sheet and he has been doing it for four years.

Over that time Wilson has:

-409 tackles

-34.5 tackles for loss

-14 pass deflections

-10 interceptions

-7 sacks

-5 forced fumbles

-3 touchdowns

I mean, talk about a guy who can do a little bit of everything. Listed at 6’2, 250 lb. the former defensive back has the perfect resume to be a special teams contributor/sub package guy from day one.

He almost reminds me of Amani Hooker in that he can do a lot of different things for you and can constantly be on the active roster, so developing him should be easier than trying to get something out of guys you can only see on 10% of the snaps during the week.

Defensive backs:

Kindle Vildor CB, Georgia Southern

Troy Pride CB, Notre Dame

Reggie Robinson CB, Tulsa

Kyle Dugger S, Lenoir Rhyne

Jalen Elliott S, Notre Dame

Alohi Gilman S, Notre Dame

A name you are probably going to hear a lot is Kyle Dugger because he was featured in an article partway through the 2019 season that blew up.

In that article you see that his arm length would have been second longest at the NFL Combine last year and his hands were bigger than anyone else’s at the event. Not only that, but he is listed at 6’1 and clocked in at 4.41 when scouts visited him on campus.

He also finished the season by winning the Cliff Harris Award for the best small school player in the nation.

I think he will have a role in the NFL quickly on special teams either as a returner, cover man or both and if his measurements and times hold up he could be a lot more. Shifting focus from him though, I think there is someone else who needs to be talked about.

Most likely to be the pick: Troy Pride

Pride is a quicker DB who still has enough size to line up inside or outside at the next level. While his 2019 season maybe wasn’t as good as his 2018 season, he still looks like a talented cornerback that can affect passes in the air.

In the admittedly little amount that I have watched him in draft prep, he looks like a guy who quickly comes up to make tackles and is well regarded for his speed. With Adoree Jackson scheduled to be a free agent after 2020, it makes sense for Jon Robinson to protect himself by adding a similar backup behind him.

Also, it would be nice to not have to resort to free agents in Week 14 again.