The ultimate guide to Jon Robinson’s draft history as GM
By Brady Akins
2017:
Best Pick: Jayon Brown, ILB, UCLA (Round 5, Pick 155)
Worst Pick: Taywan Taylor, WR, Western Kentucky (Round 3, Pick 72)
His reputation hasn’t quite caught up to the level it should be, but those who have watched him closely know that Jayon Brown is one of the best young linebackers in the NFL.
In fact, Brown and his running mate Rashaan Evans are quickly emerging as one of the best middle linebacker duos in the NFL, with both players still just in their mid-20s.
What makes Brown’s two-year rise from rotational player to regular starter to fan-favorite even more impressive is that the UCLA product was drafted in the fifth round with the 155th overall pick. He outperformed expectations right off the bat, and continues to do so with a couple of other Titans from the 2017 class.
Adoree Jackson didn’t start off his career as a ball hawk and didn’t reach the heights many guessed he would on special teams, but the USC Trojan worked his way into the starting lineup and has been a reliable starter ever since, and is still getting even better.
In between Jackson and Brown with the Titans third-round pick, Robinson took the tight end Jonnu Smith, who got a chance in the starting lineup in 2019 and showed potential as a future top-tier tight end.
But while Robinson hit on the tight end pick, the two picks he used on the pass-catchers he took before Smith have not aged gracefully.
Corey Davis has been… okay. He’s had games where he’s looked like the WR1 the Titans wanted him to be at fifth overall, but for every ‘seven-catch, 120-yard game’ he has, it feels like he follows up with a ‘two-catch, 30-yard’ game more often than you want to see out of a top-five pick.
The frustrations with Davis are bad, for sure. But they don’t come close to matching the disappointment of Taywan Taylor’s two-season run with the Titans.
For a brief moment, it looked like Tennessee might have found a sneaky starting quality receiver in the third round that could take the top off the defense. But Taylor’s game never seemed to progress past the potential he showed. His time in Tennessee flamed out, and now the 72nd overall pick is struggling to find a roster spot.