Tennessee Titans 2022 NFL Draft class is outstanding
By Will Lomas
The public opinion on Tennessee Titans GM Jon Robinson shifted wildly from Thursday to Saturday, and there were two big factors in that.
Firstly, Titans fans realized that the Titans weren’t being cheap with A.J. Brown and that he forced his way out of the organization to play with his best friend, Jalen Hurts. In a situation where Jon Robinson’s two choices were to trade Brown now or trade Brown later, he jumped on the only solution that ended up giving the Titans a chance to replace their former receiver.
Secondly, Robinson made some very smart trades during the 2022 NFL Draft that allowed him to add multiple players at premium positions that can impact the Tennessee Titans in the short term and the long term.
I wanted to look show just how well Robinson did by using Dane Brugler’s draft grades for each individual prospect that the Titans drafted as well as their best UDFAs. Remember, Robinson went into this draft with one 1st, one 3rd, two 4ths, one 5th, and two 6ths.
Treylon Burks WR, Arkansas: 1st round grade
Malik Willis QB, Liberty: 1st-2nd round grade
Roger McCreary CB, Auburn: 2nd-3rd round grade
Nicholas Petit-Frere OT, Ohio State 3rd-4th round grade
Kyle Philips WR, UCLA: 4th round grade
Chigoziem Okonkwo TE, Maryland: 5th round grade
Hassan Haskins RB, Michigan: 5th-6th round grade
David Anenih EDGE, Houston: 5th-6th round grade
Jayden Peevy DL, Texas A&M: 6th round grade
Haskell Garrett DL, Ohio State: 6th-7th round grade
Chance Campbell LB, Ole Miss: PFA grade
Reggie Roberson WR, SMU: PFA grade
Theo Jackson DB, Tennessee: UDFA grade
Context on the Tennessee Titans’ great draft haul
Now, the common complaint with looking at this is going to be that Treylon Burks was taken with the pick for A.J. Brown so he shouldn’t count. Even if you use that logic, Robinson and the Tennessee Titans walked away with great value in this class.
Let’s play my favorite draft game “What if this player was actually drafted in this round.”
What if the Titans used the 26th pick on Malik Willis? That is good value and a premium position.
How about if the Titans used their 3rd round pick on Roger McCreary? That is good value at a premium position.
NPF and Kyle Philips in the 4th? Good value. Chig in the 5th? Good value. Hassan Haskins and David Anenih in the 6th? Good value. Jayden Peevy, Haskell Garrett, Chance Campbell, Reggie Roberson, and Theo Jackson as UDFAs? Great value.
It is hard to finish a draft class and check all the boxes, but Jon Robinson and the Titans did that in this class. Did they get good value with their picks? Yes. Did they add players at premium positions that will help the salary cap going forward? Absolutely. Were players added that can instantly fill holes on the roster? Yep, 3 for 3.
It is fair to say that the Tennessee Titans’ ceiling on offense is lower without A.J. Brown. However, it is also fair to say that the Titans are better across the board on offense than they were last season and they are set up better for the future.