Keep this in mind before the Titans crucial 2021 NFL Draft

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Nov 21, 2020; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; LSU Tigers wide receiver Jaray Jenkins (10) celebrates with running back Tyrion Davis-Price (3) and wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr. (6) after touchdown catch in the fourth quarter against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports /

Give me an example of some of these in action

A prime example of these biases coming into play happened when I was looking at Terrace Marshall Jr. a WR from LSU.

Nick Lombardi posted a mock draft where he took Marshall in the first round and I said:

"I just can’t get on board with Marshall as someone the Titans would pick. Quitting on LSU halfway through the Alabama week after he half [expletive] it all season just seems like someone who won’t even be on their board."

Now, I can explain why I thought this. It is true that Marshall opted out on the Monday before the game against Alabama. On top of that, I distinctly remember some poor effort blocking and him not trying very hard to catch a pass over the middle that was then intercepted and returned for a pick-six.

I didn’t think he was undraftable, but I also didn’t think that the Titans front office would be interested in someone with those issues if other options were available.

Robert Greenlaw suggested that I go back and re-watch him to reconsider, so I did. As it turns out, he was right, I was probably too negative on him.

I still have the same concerns that I did about his lack of effort as a blocker, leaving the team, and this pick-six, but when I re-watched him trying to find the positives, it is easy to see that Marshall is a fun player with size and great speed that might interest the Titans.

Going by the list of 20 cognitive biases, what was holding me back from seeing his value as an option for the Titans in the first round was because of:

1. Anchoring Bias: I watched the Texas A&M game first and any drop from then on just pointed back to that concern.

15. Recency Bias: Again, one of the first things that I really locked in on first with Marshall is that the most recent image in my mind of him is him opting out.

7. Confirmation Bias: Draft podcasters have said that Marshall is going to have to explain why he dropped out in the middle of the season, and while I agree with this I think I counted it against him twice because it confirmed one of my initial problems with Marshall.

I’m sure there were other things clouding my initial scouting report as well, but that feels like enough examples.

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