Titans lose out on A.J. Brown, Jeffery Simmons in CBS Sports redraft
CBS Sports’ redraft of the 2019 NFL Draft has the Tennessee Titans ending up with a different first-round pick than the team originally came away with.
It’s always fun to take a look at how things could have gone differently in a past draft once we’ve seen the players involved in action, and that’s exactly what CBS Sports did with the Tennessee Titans and the rest of the NFL.
In a redraft of the 2019 NFL Draft, CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso has the Titans taking wide receiver Deebo Samuel with the No. 19 overall pick in the first round. Meanwhile the team’s original first-round pick, defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons, goes to the New York Giants two spots earlier.
The re-draft also has wide receiver A.J. Brown, who went to the Titans with the No. 51 overall pick in the second round, jumping all the way up to No. 3 overall to the New York Jets.
Brown’s jump into the first round and top five isn’t surprising. Brown led all rookie receivers in yards and touchdowns, and his 20.2 yards per reception was the second-most in the league.
He was easily the best rookie receiver and no first-year offensive player in the entire league had more of an impact on his team than the Ole Miss product, who was one of the most explosive players in the entire NFL.
From Week 7 on, which coincides with quarterback Ryan Tannehill taking over as the Titans’ starter, only two receivers posted a higher grade than Brown, per Pro Football Focus. One can only imagine the numbers Brown could have posted in 16 games with Tannehill.
When you add it all up, it’s a travesty that Brown didn’t win Offensive Rookie of the Year, and the fact that he finished third in the voting only adds insult to injury.
Coming away with Samuel in the first round would have been a solid consolation prize, though. Like Brown, Samuel, who was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round (No. 36) ahead of Brown is great at gaining yards after the catch and really broke out in his first season.
Adding to that, Samuel is the kind of player you can line up anywhere on the field, which gives an offense flexibility with how they can get the talented young receiver involved.
As much as I like Samuel, the Titans are obviously much better off with both Brown and Simmons, and this redraft shows just how much of a steal general manager Jon Robinson got in his first- and second-round picks.