I don’t know who deserves the most credit – if it’s Jon Robinson for finding these diamond in the rough defensive linemen and getting deals done with ’em, or if it’s Mike Vrabel and the Tennessee Titans coaching staff for taking ’em and turning ’em into gems. But, the Titans seem to find one of these contributing defensive tackles in or after every draft. See Teair Tart. See Naquan Jones. This year, Ohio State defensive lineman Haskell Garrett fell into their laps after the NFL Draft, signing as an un-drafted free agent. I’ll eventually get around to breaking down this UDFA class as a whole, but I wanted to start with Garrett because his addition as an UDFA feels like an outright steal for this franchise.
I thought Garrett was going to be a mid-round pick after a productive career at Ohio State. I still can’t find a good reason as to why he slid out of the draft altogether. I saw some he-said-she-said floating around on Twitter that teams were afraid of his injury history, but I literally can’t find anything legitimate on that. It just seems like he slipped through the cracks to me, and the Titans are better for it. To get a guy with his level of technique and accomplishment feels like highway robbery.
I had seen Garrett’s name popping up on mock drafts for awhile, but I didn’t really notice him until the Senior Bowl down in Mobile. This is the blurb I jotted down on my NFL Draft big board (that was available exclusively on the SoBros Network Patreon): “Garrett looks like a disruptor from wherever he lines up and plays with great leverage to beat offensive linemen.” He was hurt in practice on that Thursday, but suited up and played the game on Saturday anyway.
He may not be the most powerful player, but what Garrett lacks in pure strength, he makes up for in polish and savvy. You can’t help but notice how good he is with his hands, and he harnesses that skill into leverage, getting to gaps and pressuring quarterbacks. He’s a penetrator. To me, that looks like where he might provide something different from Tart and Jones. Garrett isn’t the run-stopping, gap-eating throwback defensive tackle. He’s a guy that has the traits to come in and actually rush the passer a bit from the defensive line. That’s a good quality for this defense to have in spades, so why not think Garrett has a shot to make this team?
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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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