6 Senior Bowl players the Titans are most likely to draft

The Tennessee Titans Senior Bowl shortlist.

You know what everyone wants to talk about right now? What will the Tennessee Titans do with their 3rd round picks in the 2021 NFL Draft!

Alright, well maybe there are bigger fish to fry, but whether you are actively looking for it now or not, there is an event coming that has historically had a bigger impact on the Titans 3rd round picks than anything else.

The Senior Bowl.

Since Jon Robinson was hired as the Titans GM back in 2016, all five third-round picks have been small school players at positions of immediate need. 4 of those 5 picks have been Conference USA players that attended the Senior Bowl, with the only exception being Darrynton Evans.

Considering how hectic the 2020 offseason was, I am going to say that Evans is an outlier and that the Titans are going to get back to their trend from 2016-2019. However, for the sake of argument let’s include the Sun Belt in this discussion along with Conference USA.

If you narrow down the Senior Bowl by Conference USA and Sun Belt players you end up with 6 prospects that (history tells us) the Titans will have a very close eye on. Who are they and do any of them fit positions of need? Well, let’s dive in.

Riley Cole LB, South Alabama

I honestly had never heard of Riley Cole until looking over the Senior Bowl roster. His story is that he was committed to Alabama as a 3-star linebacker who could also long snap which is a solid combination if you are looking for someone to give you depth and some snaps on special teams.

I’m assuming that after looking at the linebackers in front of him on the depth chart he decided that maybe Alabama wasn’t the school for him and he decided to go to South Alabama where he spent five years as an undersized linebacker.

Looking over what I could find on him, I don’t think he is going to be someone that the Titans consider on Day 2 and he is going to need a great effort this week to firmly cement himself as a Day 3 selection. Given his history on special teams, I would assume that he makes an NFL roster, but he shouldn’t be a thought for the Titans in the third round.

Robert Jones OL, MTSU

The first player Jon Robinson took in the 3rd round of the draft and the player that started this trend of small school Senior Bowl stars was Kevin Byard. Fittingly, there is another MTSU standout that is going to be in Mobile this weekend.

Jones is a big, heavy-handed lineman who played tackle in college but who will almost certainly have to move inside at the next level despite a good career at tackle in college. Although, the Senior Bowl is a place where you get chances to prove that there might be some misconceptions about your game, and if he could show some lateral agility this week it could be huge for him.

In a lot of ways, he reminds me of current Titans guard Nate Davis except no frog stance. Ultimately though I think he is going to be much less athletic than Davis and he is going to be someone whose size and upside get him into the middle of Day 3, but I’m not sure I see 3rd round value for him at this point.

Not to mention, OL isn’t a big position of need for the Titans.

Elijah Mitchell RB, Louisiana

Now we are starting to get into the name of players who have a decent shot at going in that late Day 2/early Day 3 range and that starts with Elijah Mitchell.

The Louisiana running back has been very efficient over the last three years. Mitchell never dipped below 5.8 yards per carry and he topped 6 yards per carry in two of those three seasons.

With solid size (listed at 5’11, and nearly 220 lb.) it is nice to see that he has shown some ability as a receiver out of the backfield and he looks like someone who could be a third down back at the next level.

Having said that he lacks a great burst in the open field and he doesn’t ever jump of the screen to me as a special talent that would be able to see the field for a team with two competent running backs. If he was going to have a path to a spot on the Titans roster, you would have to make the argument that he is a good fit as a blocker and on special teams.

However, Jeremy McNichols has that spot locked down for now and he is on a very cheap deal. Spending a top-100 pick on a running back would be a tough sell anyway, but even more difficult when they are so similar to something you already have.

Tarron Jackson EDGE, Coastal Carolina

If you are someone that likes Carlos Basham, then meet Tarron Jackson who is another big-bodied defender who can either play as a 5-tech or as an EDGE in the NFL depending on what scheme you run.

Coming from Coastal Carolina has a lot more value this year than it did in recent years, but don’t think that Jackson is a one-year wonder from a school that got hot. Look at the important numbers from Jackson over his three years as a starter:

2018: 11 TFLs, 3 sacks

2019: 12.5 TFLs, 9.5 sacks

2020: 14 TFLs, 8.5 sacks

Dominance is good, consistency and dominance are even better and Jackson has both qualities in spades.

I haven’t watched enough of Jackson to really die on any hill for him yet, but it is something worth watching throughout the week because he genuinely could be someone that doesn’t make it out of the third round of the NFL Draft.

With a huge week against the best group of tackles that he has gotten a chance to play against in his career, this is a huge opportunity for Jackson and he could absolutely be an option for the Titans in the third.

Austin Watkins WR, UAB

Watkins is a very intriguing candidate for the Tennessee Titans. If you are looking for a stylistic replacement for Corey Davis, then a productive 6’3 receiver from a small school does give you some of those vibes.

Despite an abbreviated season, Watkins was well on his way to hitting the “two 1,000 yard seasons” landmark that Jon Robinson values in receivers, so you could make the argument that he could get a pass this year.

While I was ready to mark him off as someone who had a big year in 2019 and who didn’t quite meet expectations in 2020, I was talked off of the ledge by @TitansTape on Twitter:

Regardless of whether the Titans keep Corey Davis or not, they are going to need help at wide receiver. A good week in Mobile would be big for Watkins, but either way, he could be someone that the Titans have an eye on as a nice depth piece with real upside.

Jordan Smith EDGE, UAB

Another UAB player to wrap up the list, Smith has a lot of positive traits, but the thing that is going to garner the most attention is that he is listed as 6’7, 255 lb.

Now, I don’t have any faith at all in the Titans coaching staff to actually develop a defensive player based on what we all saw in 2020, but maybe there will be a new coach in place that can get the most out of a guy like Smith.

With his length and athleticism, you can move him around and create mismatches if you want, and that is something that college coaches took note of when he was coming out of high school. Originally, Smith was a Florida Gator, but he got caught up in a credit card scam and ended up going to junior college.

Times like these are when you usually learn a lot about a player. When you get in trouble and it would be easy for you to quit, how do you respond? Do you really love the game or were you just about it when everyone was telling you how great you were?

Well, Smith shattered any questions people had about whether he would fold or not when he dominated in his one year in JUCO with 11 sacks and 22.5 TFLs in his 12 games. From there it was on to UAB

Over 21 games at UAB he racked up 23.5 TFLs to continue his 1+ TFL per game standard and when you watch his tape you can see how he is so effective. Even though he isn’t the most instinctive or technical player, his length lets him be wrong as long as he is wrong at full speed.

There are plays where it looks like he is washed down or out of position, but those long arms give him a chance to make a quick turn and be right back in it.

Out of everyone on this list, this seems like the person that the Titans would be most likely to spend a 3rd round pick on, and a good week of interview may mean that they need to move up into the top-75 to do so.