Free agency butterfly effect: What could happen if the Tennessee Titans don’t re-sign Jack Conklin
By Will Lomas
Quick mock draft
With two of the Titans top six needs filled with Pro Bowl caliber talent, you can start to see why a move like this would be foolish but if you can have a plan like this in your back pocket then it could ultimately be worth it.
In one of the deeper offensive tackle classes in recent memory, you can assume that tackle is now the top target heading into April.
Knowing that, I went through TDN’s mock draft machine and came away with this 3-round mini mock draft.
29. Josh Jones OT, Houston
-On film, Jones shows flashes of athleticism at left tackle and he seems like a good fit for the zone scheme that the Titans want to use. If the Titans want wait and take any of the top five or six tackles in this draft, they can potentially trade down and still land someone or they can choose to stick and pick Jones.
61. J.K. Dobbins RB, Ohio State
-Dobbins is the perfect offensive fit for what the Titans are biased towards. He was a bell cow in college and he is from Ohio State, instantly checking a box for GM Jon Robinson and a box for Vrabel.
He would come to the Titans as a great fit as a 3rd down back who can also actually spell Derrick Henry without being a massive let down that kills an offensive drive.
93. Amik Robertson CB, Louisiana Tech
-Don’t worry about his size, Robertson is mean enough on film for a team like the Titans to ignore that. The LT prospect is physical in the run game and against screens while being incredibly productive while the ball is in the air.
Jon Robinson loves Conference USA prospects in the 3rd round, so why not take another one this year when you have gotten guys like Kevin Byard, Nate Davis and Jonnu Smith in the past few years?
Odds and ends
That leaves just QB2 as the only big need left untouched and I think that will be solved at some point in free agency with the QB market being so crowded. Also, someone like Andy Dalton could be floating around as a trade target and I think the Bengals would happily eat some of that salary to get a Day 3 pick for him.
So, the basic exchange simplified ends up being:
-Jack Conklin and Corey Davis (who likely gets traded for a high Day 3 pick in this scenario) in exchange for Amari Cooper.
Also, you end up “losing” a 1st round pick by being forced to take a rookie offensive tackle who is unproven.
Brown will be 22 years old next year and Amari Cooper will be 26. You are guaranteed both of them will be on the roster for the next three seasons and you give your quarterback the weapons he needs to transition from an offense so focused on Henry, and turn it into an incredibly versatile unit.
Is it worth it? Hard to say, but like I said before if you are going to let an offensive tackle with Pro Bowls in his future walk in exchange for money, you dang sure better have a plan for that money other than burning a hole in your pocket or signing special teams players.