Names to remember for the Titans 2021 NFL Draft.
It isn’t any secret that the Tennessee Titans struggled to evaluate the 2020 NFL Draft prospects because they couldn’t go through their normal scouting process. Hopefully, that won’t be the case this year.
Everything isn’t back to normal by any means, but there are some key differences between this draft season and the 2020 draft season that should make Titans fans optimistic.
COVID protocols still say that you aren’t allowed to have prospects in NFL facilities for private meetings, but teams are now allowed to have up to three members of their front office at those events.
Being able to have Jon Robinson, Mike Vrabel, Monti Ossenfort, or any other member of the Titans front office present for testing and drills is huge. Maybe even more importantly, this gives the team a chance to go in and talk to the coaching staff and really figure out what makes these guys tick.
The only problem is that you can’t have Jon Robinson attend every Pro Day because some of them overlap or are across the country and it just isn’t logistically possible. I talked about the tough choices that Robinson and the Titans staff were going to have to make during the Pro Day grind and we are seeing that play out now.
As of Friday morning, the Titans have had someone at 13 different Pro Days and we have seen this all over social media. So I wanted to compile what we know and show which teams the Titans have been most interested in seeing.
4. Sleeper teams
From talking to some people, I think there have been three Pro Days that the Titans have sent anonymous scouts to, which indicates some interest.
Since none of the big-name front office members attended these Pro Days and since Mike Vrabel wasn’t named, I think that the best way to interpret this is to look at these teams with sleeper prospects or teams that had prospects that Tennessee felt like they needed more information on.
These teams are Florida, UCF and UMass.
Kadarius Toney is the biggest name out of this group, and it is easy to connect the dots with the Titans needing a wide receiver or two in this draft. However, I think that would be the type of interest that you would send someone who ranks higher than (no disrespect) just a scout.
Aaron Robinson and Richie Grant are very interesting defensive backs from UCF if they were to fall into the middle of Day 2, so I would keep an eye on them. Also, UCF WR/TE Jacob Harris is sort of the king of sleepers at this point thanks to a great Dane Brugler article, so keep an eye on him as a guy who the Titans may use a Day 3 pick on to supplement and possibly replace Anthony Firkser.
Speaking of that same Brugler article, the only UMass player with a shot at getting drafted is the athletic offensive tackle Larnel Coleman who is also the team captain.
3. Not quite Jon Robinson
Two Pro Days fit this bill where it is hard to gauge just how much interest the Titans have in these players.
Ryan Cowden went to BYU’s Pro Day, likely to watch Brady Christensen the athletic offensive tackle. If that is who he went for, Cowden got an eye-full because Christensen blew up the Pro Day measuring in at 6’6 and just over 300 lb. while posting very similar numbers to Taylor Lewan.
The duo of Monti Ossenfort and Patrick Callaway went to Virginia Tech as well.
VT has a few players who might be interesting later in the draft, but these two were likely on hand to watch OT Christian Darrisaw and find out some information on CB Caleb Farley.
Farley recently had surgery, so being able to do some digging on just how bad the injury is will be big, and Darrisaw has plays on tape where he clearly decided he doesn’t want to give much effort. Whether or not the coaches vouch for these players could go a long way towards determining whether or not the Titans are interested.
Either way, all three of these players are going to be top-100 picks and there is a chance that they all end up in the first two rounds.
2. Jon Robinson solo
As mentioned earlier, Robinson has been traveling the country over the last two weeks and he has been to eight Pro Days so far. Five of those trips he made by himself and those are the Pro Days that fall into this category.
More from Titan Sized
- Tennessee Titans suspiciously quiet about major draft need
- Tennessee Titans agree to new deal with star Jeffery Simmons
- Caesars Promo Code Expires Soon – Claim $1,250 Today
- 3 needs that are being overblown by Tennessee Titans fans
- Tennessee Titans have potential dilemmas in 2023 NFL Draft
Friday morning he was holding bags at Tusla’s Pro Day where all eyes were on hybrid linebacker Zaven Collins who looks very similar to Rashaan Evans when he came out. The big difference here was that everything had to be taken with a grain of salt based on competition, but he did look more athletic than Evans on tape.
Collins posted impressive numbers at his Pro Day and numbers that were much better than what Evans posted, so that was a huge box to check if he was going to convince the Titans (or any team) to draft him in the first round this year.
EDGEs were the main topic of conversation at the Miami and Michigan Pro Days where Jaelan Phillips, Gregory Rousseau, Kwity Paye, and Quincy Roche all figure to be top-100 picks. Given the Titans pass rushing needs it was smart for Robinson to be on-hand personally to evaluate and rank these players after seeing them in person.
In Minnesota, Robinson was likely keeping an eye on wide receiver Rashod Bateman who is one of the “next tier” of wide receivers that could end up in the first round after the big three.
Finally, I don’t know who exactly Jon Robinson might be interested in watching in person at Ohio State’s Pro Day. The best players on their roster (other than QB) are all interior linemen or off-ball linebackers that do very little to impress you.
1. The Big Guns
So far this offseason there have only been three Pro Days that Mike Vrabel has attended with Jon Robinson, and all three schools are about as different as they can be other than the fact that they are all SEC schools.
The biggest name is Alabama where you can just take your pick of nearly any position they might be interested in given the talent level at that school. Having said that, there are plenty of pictures of Landon Dickerson joking around with the Titans brass, which is interesting since Dickerson has played every spot on the offensive line in his career.
Tennessee holds the title for the fewest intriguing options for the Titans, but iOL Trey Smith is someone they are going to love from a character standpoint. Josh Palmer would be a nice Day 3 addition at wide receiver and center Brandon Kennedy would be an interesting UDFA that they might be building connections with now.
Finally, South Carolina, saw one of the best Pro Days of any school this offseason with Jaycee Horn blowing the roof off of the place. I am sure that the Titans cornerbacks were interested and they probably still are, but after this outstanding Pro Day and the injury to Caleb Farley, it is going to take a lot of good luck for him to fall to 22.