Tennessee Titans draft: All of Jon Robinson’s homework will pay off

Everyone calm down if you’re a Tennessee Titans fan. Sure, you’re excited, and that’s to be expected. Some of you are probably a little nervous, and that’s okay too. All of this is about two things, and even if you’ve been living under a rock recently, here’s what that looks like.

One, everyone wants this Titans team and their G.M., Jon Robinson, to nail the upcoming NFL Draft, and second, there’s a little nervousness about whether or not they’ll do so after what transpired during the most recent professional football season, one that followed the Titans last six picks.

Take a breath. Do some stretching or whatever you do to wind down. This is going to work out. You cheer for a team that has one of the NFL’s best general managers.

Yes Tennessee Titans fans, what you’re thinking is obvious.

At this point, the Isaiah Wilson selection has been discussed so often that there’s no reason to revisit that choice here, but this needs to be said. Even though he may be the biggest bust in franchise history, this wasn’t universally seen as a bad idea at the time.

Wilson declared early despite the fact that some thought he should have returned to Georgia for another season. Most viewed him as a top-ten prospect at his position. It’s never a bad idea for a team to bolster its offensive line. Taking Wilson wasn’t a boneheaded move. It just didn’t work, but it isn’t Jon Robinson’s fault that this guy didn’t want to be serious about playing football.

Here’s why you need to be excited if you’re a Tennessee Titans fan.

If you’re one of those Titans fans that are thinking about the fact that the rest of Robinson’s 2020 draft class wasn’t that stellar either, you aren’t alone. Two of Tennessee’s six selections aren’t on the team anymore, but there’s still time for the other guys to develop.

Here’s something else to consider. These things happen all of the time in the NFL. The draft isn’t an exact science (you’ve probably heard that before), and teams miss on guys all of the time. The Tennessee Titans made the playoffs anyway, but they ultimately fell short of their ultimate goal.

This offseason, there were cap casualties. Malcolm Butler, Kenny Vaccaro, and Corey Davis were among them, but Robinson’s been steady in his approach to craft another talented roster, adding guys like Janoris Jenkins and Bud Dupree. He’s even been hitting the road to attend as many Pro Days as he can.

On the final Monday before the 2021 NFL Draft, Robinson spoke with the media, and among the first topics discussed was how beneficial it has been to see potential prospects in person. Here’s what the Titans executive vice president and G.M. had to say on the subject.

"Having the Pro Days this year was beneficial, being able to go to the college campuses and see these guys perform (and) see them athletically on the field and see them interacting with their teammates. (Having) some face-to-face interactions with some coaches and staff members at the various universities was different. That was really good… I believe the players were a little more comfortable on (the Zoom meetings). They were used to it (and) it wasn’t something that was new to them."

Robinson also spoke about looking through medical information on the prospects and attending n to 12 Pro Days which he says is a normal number. Sure, the jury is still out on 2020’s draft class as a whole, but the Titans have nine picks in the coming selection meeting. Tennessee’s G.M. needs only dust himself off, put last year behind him, and keep on pushing. He’s doing as good a job as can be expected.

Tennessee has earned playoff berths in consecutive seasons. This year, they will put the bow on notching consecutive double-digit winning seasons for the first time since the 2007 and 2008 NFL seasons. Robinson can only be viewed one way, as a top-ten GM in the NFL. He’ll put this team in a good spot with a good draft class. You’ll see when the curtain closes on Day 3. In the meantime, you need only relax if you’re a Tennessee Titans fan.