Using history to predict Tennessee Titans first-round selection

Here’s a prediction on what the Tennessee Titans might do.

Barring an unforeseen trade back in the draft, the Tennessee Titans can only pick one of these players in the first round, so who’s it going to be? The answer is simple.

Alex Leatherwood, Tackle, Alabama

This is the quintessential Jon Robinson draft pick. Alex Leatherwood checks all of the boxes of the draft habits Robinson has established through five years of drafting.

Robinson has used 33 percent of his draft picks with the Titans on offensive tackles, and that has to be considered, especially when you look at the circumstances surrounding the roster. The two projected starting tackles left on the roster, Taylor Lewan and the six-year journeyman Ty Sambrailo, were both sidelined due to injury before the conclusion of the 2020-2021 season, and Sambrailo’s ceiling at this point in his career looks to be limited to a solid swing tackle, again if he can stay healthy.

Even more, Robinson identified offensive tackle as a top priority in last year’s draft as well, so much so that he was willing to take a risk on a player that was far rawer of a prospect than he usually takes a chance on early.