2020 NFL Mock Draft review: The good, the bad and the ugly for Tennessee Titans
By Will Lomas
Dan Kadar, Mocking the Draft
Tennessee Titans 1st round selection: Kenneth Murray LB, Oklahoma
Player left on the board I would have taken: Yetur Gross-Matos EDGE, Penn State
Tennessee Titans 2nd round selection: Raekwon Davis DL, Alabama
Player left on the board I would have taken: Clyde Edwards-Helaire RB, LSU
"Murray may not be a traditional pass-rushing linebacker, but he can do enough to be a worthwhile pick for the Titans. Murray has good speed for a linebacker and can be an asset on blitzes."
My thoughts:
I’m a big fan of Dan Kadar and I really like his work, which is true of most of the people whose mocks I will be looking at when I do these. But sometimes even the best analysts make the wrong choice.
So, the Titans enter the draft needing to re-sign Derrick Henry, Ryan Tannehill and Jack Conklin which likely leaves their needs as (in no order): EDGE2, RB2, QB2, CB3, OL depth, WR depth.
Kenneth Murray is a really good player and I get the thought process here, but Jon Robinson is usually very against drafting players and trying to convert them to other positions. For instance, in his opening press conference he talked about not wanting to take on projects, suggesting that long term starters in scheme fits would be put at a premium.
In this scenario you take the best and deepest part of the Titans defense and don’t upgrade it. He is slightly taller and heavier than Jayon Brown, but Brown’s development and impact on this defense can’t be overstated.
Adding talent is great and normally I wouldn’t have a pick like that in the “ugly” section, but what really knocked this from a “C-” to an “F” is Raekwon Davis.
If you aren’t familiar with him, Davis he is a guy who made big splashes in his first year as a starter on the Alabama defense and then got much worse over the next two years. For example, these are his TFL and sack numbers going from 2017->2018->2019:
TFLs: 10->5.5->3
Sacks: 8.5->1.5->0.5
He has some athletic traits, but he is going to be a run stuffer in the NFL and the Titans desperately need pass rush.
If they could add a pass rushing DT, then alright I wouldn’t hate the pick if it was a value but to pass on pass rush help at either EDGE or DT in the first two rounds and also not addressing the Derrick Henry backup/replacement conversation just isn’t a good mock for the Titans.