For those of y’all who didn’t join the SoBros Patreon for the sports content, I do apologize. I swear, we’ll get right back to the regularly scheduled nonsense after next week’s NFL Draft is over with. And, I’m going to try and do some more bonus stuff before the month’s over with (been working on a project with our friend RighteousJesse for a while now but we didn’t get to film it last week because I’ve been sick).
As the 2022 NFL Draft approaches, I’m becoming more and more set in what I think the Titans will do with that 26th overall selection. You never say never with Jon Robinson and Mike Vrabel – they’ve made it abundantly clear that they are willing to go ‘best player available’ and that might not necessarily come at a position of need.
But, when you look at the areas of this team that need tweaking, it’s clear that we’re on the precipice of a total rebuild along the offensive line, and they could use insurance policies and new dynamics in the receiving corps. Even if the offensive line performs up to its potential, it is getting OLD. They’ve already moved on from Rodger Saffold, and realistically speaking, they probably only have a couple of good years left with Ben Jones and Taylor Lewan. There’s a total black hole at right tackle, and right now, the only sure young prospect they have is Nate Davis at right guard. Even he is entering a contract year from a class that features other guys that deserve to get paid ahead of him (AJ Brown and Jeffery Simmons). This is why I say the Titans are pretty close to blowing up the whole damn line up and starting from scratch. At receiver, they’re going to make a concerted effort to sign Brown to a long-term deal and keep him a Titan. After him, they have Robert Woods coming off an ACL tear as WR2. They could stand a guy in the rotation to serve as insurance should he not be the receiver he was before the injury. Even if he is that guy again, the Titans could stand to add a speedy, gadgety receiver to the fold as well. Let’s not even address the possibility of a receiving corps without Brown, by the way…at least not yet.
I also think that it’s NOT a smoke screen that they’re doing their due diligence on this quarterback class. They’re stuck with Ryan Tannehill for 2022, for better or for worse, but there’s a potential out in 2023, and whether he’s back to form or not, it’s time to start thinking about life after Tannehill. This quarterback class is being underrated – I think there are six guys with ‘quality starter’ potential. So, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them snag their signal-caller of the future here and sit him behind Tannehill to develop for a year.
So, with all of this in mind, I went back to PFF’s mock machine, fired it up with each of these scenarios in mind just to see what I could come up with. How’d I do?
Option 1: Offensive Line
I don’t care what grade PFF gives it, snagging Kenyon Green and Zach Tom with the first two picks in this year’s draft immediately gives the Titans two building block pieces along the offensive line. If Green played a position that was more critical to the success of the football team, he’d be a consensus top 10 pick. When I watch him, I think he’s one of the highest-floor guys in this draft (he’s currently #11 on my NFL Draft Big Board that is also available here on Patreon). I haven’t watched a lot of Tom to be fully transparent, but guys whose opinions I trust greatly are super high on him.
The only problem I have with this mock is that I never found appropriate wide receiver value. They add three “overall weapons” to the offense in Robinson, Calcaterra, and Turner. I’m super high on Turner, but I made that pick in case Calcaterra doesn’t pan out due to his concussion history.
O’Neal is another of my draft crushes, and the Titans seem to love adding DB competition through the draft under JRob.
I also went with the best punter in the draft because there wasn’t a lot of value in Round 6, and I think that the preparation for life after Brett Kern could be underway and we’re just not talking about it because he’s the punter.
Option 2: Wide Receiver
I think this might be the one, y’all. If you haven’t been keeping up with my NFL Draft Big Board, Burks is WR1 to me. I love the AJ Brown comparisons, and why wouldn’t you want two AJ Browns in your receiving corps? Factor in the explosive potential of Jelani Woods, and Ty Chandler late, and you’ve gotten some quality weapons added to your offense.
Then, you have three really good offensive line prospects – Parham is one of my draft crushes for his versatility and athleticism. Paul has a shot at being a starting right tackle in the NFL, and Volson is a mauler. These guys need some fine-tuning, no doubt, but the Titans coaches have shown a knack for developing offensive line talent, so I’d trust them to get these guys on the right path.
I would be doing cartwheels if this ended up being the Titans’ haul next week.
Option 3: Quarterback
I chose Corral here because he’s my QB1, but I feel like the Titans are in love with Desmond Ridder. I also think Sam Howell could be in play as a guy that is going to go a lot higher than folks expect.
The way this scenario shook down, the Titans were able to add plenty of juice to their passing game in Dulcich, Robinson, and Melton. And then, they finally get their gadget guy that can be used across the formation in Jones. The only drawback to this is that there was only one suitable offensive line value when it was time to pick, and Volson could even be a reach in Round 4 in some analysts’ minds.
This would undoubtedly be the “offense of the future” approach to take.
Takeaways
I expect this to be a draft class that’s heavy on offensive line for the reasons stated above. I don’t think they’re just going to get one guy. It’s a great year to be looking for offensive line help, as this class is deep and ripe with talent. Expect the Titans to take advantage of that and come away with at least two offensive linemen.
I think they’ll double down on wide receiver as well. Though they re-signed Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, they moved on from Julio Jones and Marcus Johnson. Chester Rogers, Dez Fitzpatrick, and Racey McMath aren’t exactly striking fear into defenders’ hearts. So, I think they’ll add some real competition into the fold from what is another good, deep positional class in this draft.
Don’t be surprised if this team drafts a running back. Derrick Henry is another year older, he’s coming off of an injury from which he didn’t look 100% in the playoff loss to the Bengals, and it could be time to start using him less. Darrynton Evans couldn’t stay healthy and the team moved on from him. They let D’Onta Foreman go via free agency. Re-signing Dontrell Hilliard alone was not enough. I expect them to draft a guy that complements Henry while also presenting an option to become his heir apparent years down the road. I absolutely do think that guy can be found in this draft class. I love Brian Robinson. I love Rachaad White. There are definitely options with incredible potential.
If they don’t go quarterback in Round 1, I hope they don’t go quarterback at all (unless Carson Strong slides to the 4th round – I’m a lot higher on Strong than most are). This is a class that falls off a cliff after the top seven guys (I’m throwing Bailey Zappe into the mix). There are guys with physical traits, but lightyears to go before sniffing an NFL roster.
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Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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