Which Tennessee Titans draft picks will make quick impacts?

Day one starters for Tennessee Titans

Let’s state the obvious — no player in this Titans draft class is under more pressure to perform than Treylon Burks. It is one thing to have the expectation of a first-round pick, but add that he was picked as the essential replacement for AJ Brown, and that makes it all the more important that he comes in and does well from the jump.

It is not a totally unrealistic expectation, however, as Burks is a big, fast, physical receiver who has plenty of tools to succeed at the NFL level. His main comparison coming into the draft was ironically Brown himself, so it should help him that he is going into a system that suits his strength as a yard after catch threat.

He still has plenty of work to do as his route runner, and he has had to go in and out of practice more than you would like. There are still four months before the season begins, so he has plenty of time to perfect his craft before taking an official snap and if you can play in SEC heat in August then conventional wisdom says that you should be alright.

Hassan Haskins, the team’s first fourth-round pick, is another player who should be able to do his job from the very beginning. He certainly will not be the starting running back, as Derrick Henry is very much still the main workhorse, but that was never what Haskins was brought in to do.

The expectation for Haskins is to provide a one-two punch in the ground game and take some of the weight off of Henry’s shoulders, which is even more important now that he is coming off of an injury. Considering Haskins is a bruising power back and that D’Onta Foreman did well for the Tennessee Titans in that role, expect him to be effective from day one on.

This is a bold prediction, but there is a good chance that the team’s fifth-rounder, Kyle Philips, starts from the start. His footwork made him dangerous in college as a route runner and punt returner, and the ability to be a playmaker with the ball in your hands tends to translate to success at the NFL level.

Philips also does not shy away as a downfield blocker, and this touchdown against the third overall pick Derek Stingley shows that he does not go down easily. He has all the traits that the Titans want in their receivers, and with Burks and Robert Woods garnering most of the defense’s attention, he might just be in a good position to succeed in year one.