Free agency: Amari Cooper is a dream signing for the Tennessee Titans
By Will Lomas
How big of an impact does this move make?
Assuming the cuts that I mentioned above are coming, then the Titans need to figure out who their starters are at WR3, LG, C, CB2, P, RT, TE1, and TE2. If I had to make a guess right now as to how those spots were filled, I would say:
WR3: Amari Cooper
LG: Aaron Brewer
C: Corey Levin
CB2: Caleb Farley
P: UDFA competition
RT: Dillon Radunz
TE1: Mid-level free agent
TE2: Day 3 draft pick
Not only am I comfortable with those changes, but I think that every move would be an upgrade to what they had last season with Corey Levin being the only exception just because Ben Jones was so solid for the Tennessee Titans. Still, I have always been a Corey Levin truther and I think he deserves to be a starter at guard or center somewhere in the NFL.
If Amari Cooper was signed, it would immediately change the Titans’ strategy with their first-round pick. Instead of almost being guaranteed to draft a receiver, they would have a chance to take a big swing on the best player available in the first round.
Maybe that means drafting Zion Johnson who looks like the second coming of Rodger Saffold. Or maybe the Titans draft Tyler Linderbaum who many analysts described as the best center they had seen in a decade.
If the Titans cut Julio Jones to make cap space, maybe they draft someone like Treylon Burks, Drake London, or Jameson Williams. Then they would have one of the best groups of wide receivers in the NFL and the oldest player in the bunch would be 28 year old Amari Cooper.
The point is, you never want to be stuck picking a specific position in the first round of the draft. That is why the Titans ended up with Jake Locker instead of J.J. Watt, and that is just one of the countless times in history where a team’s need has blinded teams from taking a potentially elite talent.
Derrick Henry isn’t going to be elite forever, and last year we saw just how pitiful life can be without an elite running back if you don’t have a deep and talented group of receiving threats. Whether you are talking about the Cincinnati Bengals or the L.A. Rams, the lesson that the Super Bowl should have taught us is that investing in playmakers is the most important thing a team can do.
The Titans will always be a run-first team, but that just means that there should be opportunities for wide receivers to shine when the defense is caught flat-footed. Jon Robinson has always had an aggressive mentality as a team builder, so why stop now?