Jim Nagy is one of the most well-respected minds in the draft evaluation process and after a lot of first-hand experience with this draft class, he offered his opinion on most of the Tennessee Titans rookies.
Since Nagy is the Executive Director of the Senior Bowl, it makes sense that his quick synopses of the Titans draft class were limited to the prospects that he worked with directly at his even.
For most teams that would just be a handful of players, but more than half (5 of 8) of the Tennessee Titans 2021 draft class actually went to the Senior Bowl this year. Ranking them by draft order, those names are:
2nd round: Dillon Radunz OT, NDST
3rd round: Monty Rice LB, Georgia
4th round: Dez Fitzpatrick WR, Louisville
4th round: Rashad Weaver EDGE, Pittsburgh
6th round: Racey McMath WR, LSU
Nice crew headed up I-65 from MOB➡️Nashville
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) May 20, 2021
🎶OL Radunz- Blue-collar guy w/ high athletic ceiling
🪕LB Rice- Three-down LB that should have role early
🎶WR Fitzpatrick- Could be No. 3 as rookie
🪕OLB Weaver- Immediate sub-down contributor
🎶WR McMath- Best ST cover guy in draft https://t.co/7xpb5z0JlF
Judging by those quick blurbs, it looks like Nagy thinks that all five of those Titans’ rookies have a chance to compete for a spot on the roster immediately.
In fact, it looks like three could be starters by the end of the year (Radunz, Rice, and Fitzpatrick), one will contribute as a rotational pass rusher (Weaver), and the other is a potential special teams ace (McMath).
It is important that the Tennessee Titans nail this draft class.
The Tennessee Titans 2020 NFL Draft class is generally considered to be the worst of the Jon Robinson era. People forget that the 4th round pick in that draft was actually the pick that sent Ryan Tannehill to Tennessee, but even when you consider that it is hard to love the group.
If this class loaded with Senior Bowl talent is able to add some key depth in the front seven and at the wide receiver position, it would do a lot to right the wrongs of the past class. There is actually already some buzz that these rookies especially Dez Fitzpatrick, have looked good to start their professional careers.
One more reason why Nagy’s opinion should matter more than most is that four of the five prospects mentioned were guys drafted outside of the top-75. Generally, this is the time where the less well-known names start to pop up and there isn’t a lot of common knowledge about these guys.
That is why it is great to get this brief insight from someone who helped recruit these players and who has probably spent more time with these guys than the members of the Tennessee Titans front office.