Using history to predict Tennessee Titans first-round selection

Here are a few more options for the Tennessee Titans at 22.

Greg Newsome, Cornerback, Northwestern

The cornerback position wasn’t the largest issue for the Tennessee Titans about two months ago. Now, things look a little bit different.

Adoree Jackson now plays for the Giants, Malcolm Butler plays for the Cardinals, Desmond King is on the Texans roster. Three of the Titans’ most important cornerbacks over the last two seasons are all playing for different teams, leaving a suspect group of secondary players behind them.

Newsome, the junior out of Northwestern, could be someone the Titans look at to address that newfound hole in the depth chart with. He was a second-team All-American in 2020 and is seen as a day one starter in the NFL. Tennessee should at least be doing their homework on him.

Jamin Davis, Linebacker, Kentucky

After Rashaan Evans had a down year in 2020, with Jayon Brown being sidelined with an injury halfway through the season, a position once viewed as a team strength is now one that the franchise can exercise an early draft choice on.

Enter Jamin Davis, the redshirt-junior linebacker from Kentucky who played in 36 games, despite making just 11 starts. Davis breaks away somewhat from the trend of Robinson drafting longtime starters only, but the Tennessee GM has been known to take the occasional risk as well. A player like Davis, one with immense upside at a position of need, might be the candidate worth rolling the dice on.

Alex Leatherwood, Tackle, Alabama

In a top-heavy class of offensive tackles, Alabama’s Alex Leatherwood is seen more like an early second-round prospect than a day-one pick, but combining team need and everything we know about Jon Robinson’s draft history, Leatherwood may be a guy to consider in the first round.

Leatherwood, a four-year senior with the Crimson Tide, is a monument to everything opposite of Isaiah Wilson. He has college experience, he should be a nice plug-and-play piece, and even if his physical upside isn’t as high as Wilson’s was, on a depth chart no longer with Dennis Kelly, Leatherwood could be an instant starter thanks to his college experience.

Rashod Bateman, Wide Receiver, Minnesota

If the selection is a wide receiver, Minnesota’s Rashod Bateman stands out as an exemplary example of a Jon Robinson pick, as well as someone the Tennessee Titans could desperately use in their offense.

After letting Corey Davis and Jonnu Smith walk in free agency, Tennessee is in desperate need of some high-upside pass-catchers, even if A.J. Brown still in the mix. Bateman’s upside is as high as they come. Even in a 2020 season with limited experience, Bateman has a resume built up of stellar play, bolstered by a magnificent sophomore season that saw him finish as an All-Big Ten First-Team player.