Should Tennessee Titans take a defensive lineman high in 2020 NFL Draft
By Will Lomas
Did the Tennessee Titans trade Jurrell Casey just to create a need at defensive tackle?
I have been strongly against spending a first round pick on a defensive lineman in the 2020 NFL Draft, but there are plenty of people that I respect that disagree with me.
So I wanted to walk everyone through my thought process when I say that even if there is a need for more bodies at defensive tackle, I don’t think that it is a position or a need worth addressing in the top-100.
Before draft options are even brought up, we have to look at the depth chart now that Jurrell Casey has been traded and since their DT4 (in snaps) Austin Johnson is in New York.
Starting with the…starters, the Titans are in great shape at the top with Jeffery Simmons and Daquan Jones.
The tandem has all the power that you could want and Simmons was the most consistent disruptive force on the defensive line for the Titans once he was healthy enough to play. Knowing that and knowing where Simmons should be from a health standpoint, there is no way that you should expect Simmons to regress this season.
Jones had a great year in 2019 and not only was it his best season as a whole, but it was his best stretch since before he tore his biceps in 2017. Will he be able to get any better? I don’t know, but I wouldn’t assume there are reasons to expect an uptick or a downtick in his play for the 2020 NFL season.
So if 2019 Simmons was better than 2019 Casey (he was) and if DaQuan Jones plays at the same level he did last year, then that is actually an improvement on the starters from last season.
Alright, so then the conversation turns the loss of Jurrell Casey/Austin Johnson vs Isaiah Mack‘s increased role and the addition of Jack Crawford.