Grading an aggressive Tennessee Titans fourth round

The Tennessee Titans put in some serious work during Round 4.

The only real criticism of the Tennessee Titans draft class through the first three rounds of the 2021 NFL Draft was that they were focusing too much on value and not enough on the ‘needs’ on the roster. Well, Jon Robinson found a way to do both in the fourth round.

Everything started when Tennessee traded up to the top of the round to go after a player they loved in wide receiver Dez Fitzpatrick from Louisville.

Day 3 is the area of the draft where familiar names start to disappear and the potential role players take center stage. Teams are looking for specific roles or desirable traits. Fitzpatrick started 34 games in his career at Lousiville, and he fills the versatile inside/outside receiver role that the Titans were missing. He played that role well enough to lead the team in either receiving yards or receiving touchdowns in 3 of his 4 seasons.

While his production is solid, his physical traits were the big reason why he was so coveted by the Titans.

Take a look at his RAS score below:

Being nearly 6-foot-2 and having that frame would be enough to warrant a look after four years of solid production, but that is exceptional speed from someone with that size.

The best comparison for Titans fans might be a slightly heavier and faster Tajae Sharpe, except without the elite college production. Grade: B

The Tennessee Titans select Rashad Weaver at 135.

The Tennessee Titans entered the 2021 NFL Draft with four picks inside the top 100, and they walked away from the fourth round of the draft with four picks that draft analysts agree were top-100 talents in this class. More importantly, they were all players at premium positions.

Rashad Weaver was one of the most baffling fallers in this draft class and you could tell that ESPN was expecting him to go higher because they had a promo package about his training ready to go as soon as he was drafted.

One of the best endorsements he has is from Justis Mosqueda who has been breaking down pass rushers for a decade at this point. In an article analyzing Weaver, he explained why Weaver should be considered the third-best EDGE in this class.

"Weaver is a quality pass-rusher who at worst will immediately contribute in a three-man rotation on the edge. How teams will view his upside will depend on how much they believe he can add onto his hand-technique-based skill set by developing more explosion with his first step. That will be the difference between Weaver maxing out as a Derek Barnett type of player, a fine pass-rusher, and a Chandler Jones, a perennial Pro Bowler with advanced hand fighting as his primary method to victory."

Jon Robinson has spent a lot of resources making sure that this defense never is mentioned in the same breath as the 2020 defense. This is the best combination of need, value, upside, and scheme fit that anyone could ask for at this point in the draft. Grade A+

What did the Tennessee Titans miss out on?

By all accounts, the Tennessee Titans came into this draft class with a needs list that looked something like this:

1. Wide Receiver

2. Cornerback

3. Tight End

4. EDGE

5. Offensive tackle

Looking from the outside, the Titans have traded up to address their first need, double-dipped to address their second need, found great value for their fourth need naturally, and have addressed their fifth need with a high pick.

Playing devil’s advocate, you could say that based on pure value and need, they should have spent their 3rd round pick on a tight end to make sure that they filled all of their needs before focusing on overall value.

However, research shows that tight end is one of the few positions with a high hit rate on Day 3.

If the Tennessee Titans can finish this draft by adding a blocking tight end with some upside as a receiver and maybe another wide receiver, it is going to be really easy for Titans fans to fall in love with what Jon Robinson has done even if it doesn’t look the way they expected it to look.