Welcome to the weekly Tennessee Titans draft roundup for the 2023 NFL Draft. Over the course of the next several weeks, I’ll be releasing this column once a week with my very professional journalism opinions. You’ll find everything from rumors to wild speculation to actual analysis (sometimes). Titan up!
*Okay, so we’re officially entering peak silly season. You’ve got the CJ Stroud stock tanking because of his S2 scores. Bryce Young is cancelling all of his pre-draft visits from here on. Now, the Houston Texans are reportedly not looking to take a quarterback at #2. Adam Schefter is on ESPN yelling at us about how the quarterbacks aren’t going to go the way we think they are. I’m here for the chaos – this is what draft season is all about, folks. We’re all wired to high hell after months of talking about these prospects in a million different ways. Everyone wants the sweet release of draft night, and shit’s starting to get weird. Take that leap, baby. I’m already there.
*Zay Flowers is meeting/has met with the Titans as they continue to do their due diligence on this wide receiving class. Considering that they’ve looked at all of the guys at the top of the class at this point, it’s reasonable to think that they could be thinking about taking one should they stick and pick at #11. I’m a big fan of Flowers – he’s actually WR2 on my board behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba. I love his timing on his breaks, and his fluid body control makes him a natural separator as he doesn’t have to slow down to change direction. He’s an elite ball tracker, and overall just a fantastic route runner that shows a sense of savvy to what’s going on around him and how he can navigate the space in front of him. He’s incredibly aware, and does a little bit of everything from a pure play-making perspective. He doesn’t strike me as what we’ve come to expect out of a “Titans receiver” but hey – new year, new regime. Who knows what this offense is going to look like in 2023?!?!
*Zach Lyons sent me a text yesterday that simply read “I think the Titans are drafting Jaelyn Duncan.” My response? “What makes you say that? I mean, he’s an athletic traitsy guy that figures to be better in pass protection, so I could totally see it.” He then pointed out this tweet to me:
Seems like Jaelyn Duncan, OL from Maryland, is a player the #Titans really want to walk away from the draft with
— Football & Other F Words (@FWordsPod) April 18, 2023
Senior Bowl ✅
Pro Day ✅
Top-30 ✅
Virtual ✅
Like I said, I could totally see it. Based on the offensive linemen not named O’Cyrus Torrence that they’ve met with throughout this process, it sure as hell seems like they’re looking at more athletic pass protectors than we’ve seen ’em draft before. Duncan is far from a finished product, but he certainly fits that bill. He’s an athletic, twitchy, speedy and long offensive tackle that has a nice kick and lateral glide. His technique and footwork need some polish, and that means he’s probably not a Week 1 starter, but he has a high ceiling among this group. I want to see him play with a little more pop too…drive the play instead of reacting to it. I noticed him getting plenty of coaching at the Senior Bowl, and as a result, his technique improved from the first day to his last in Mobile. There’s high upside with Duncan.
*Guys I got around to watching since we last spoke: The latest NFL Draft Big Board Update over on the SoBros Patreon was an absolute unit – 14 new write-ups on 14 new prospects! It was me wrapping up this interior offensive line class and the running back class. I won’t go into all of ’em, but I want to mention a couple of guys, one at each position. I like the upside of Clemson’s Jordan McFadden and feel he’s being slept on in this guard class. He’s a smooth, fluid mover that ran a 4.99 40-yard dash. Out of the running backs, I really like Keaton Mitchell as a later round value add for some speed and electric potential in the back field.
*Guys you should watch because the Titans have shown an interest in them: Steve Avila, Rashee Rice, Tucker Kraft, Kelee Ringo, Darnell Wright, Josh Downs, Anthony Richardson, Jaelyn Duncan, O’Cyrus Torrence, Emmanuel Forbes, Tyler Scott, Jonathan Mingo, Hendon Hooker, Jacob Copeland, Mark Evans II, Braeden Daniels, DJ Johnson, McClendon Curtis, Quan Martin, Devonnsha Maxwell, Xavier Smith, Ventrell Miller, Trenton Simpson, Trevor Reid, Quentin Johnston, Julius Brents, Will Levis, Tyler Beach, Keion White, Keondre Coburn, Mohamoud Diabate, Cam Smith, Zay Flowers, Ivan Pace Jr., Gervon Dexter, Carter Warren, Anthony Bradford
*My current rooting interest – in other words, what I hope the Titans do come the end of the month:
- Anthony Richardson (Young is clearly off the table)
- Trade back
- Paris Johnson Jr.
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba
- Christian Gonzalez
*As it stands, the Titans currently have six picks in the 2023 NFL Draft:
- 1st round, 11th overall
- 2nd round, 41st overall
- 3rd round, 72nd overall
- 5th round, 147th overall
- 6th round, 186th overall
- 7th round, 228th overall
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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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