Titans First Round Options: 2023 Summary and Names to Watch

Stoney Keeley runs through his list of first round options for the Tennessee Titans tomorrow night.

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It’s hard to believe another year has gone by, and we’re wrapping up another year of the ‘Titans First Round Options’ series. It has been real, Titans fans. Allow me to summarize my reports this year with a link to each one. Happy Draft Week!

2023 TITANS FIRST ROUND OPTIONS

  • Steve Avila – I absolutely would not hate this in a trade-down scenario. Avila is not projected to be a first round pick, but there are always some surprises. He offers G/C versatility, and moves like The Juggernaut (if you’re an X-Men fan).
  • Christian Gonzalez – If the Titans take a cornerback at #11, Nashville may riot. But, I would love this pick. The Titans need a cornerstone cornerback, and Gonzalez can be just that. He’s CB1 on my board for his speed, size, and prowess in press man coverage.
  • Paris Johnson Jr. – The quintessential modern left tackle in the modern NFL. I would be elated if he’s the pick at #11.
  • Broderick Jones – There are some technique issues to sort out, but there’s a good left tackle in Jones. I’d be perfectly fine with this pick if the Titans are able to trade down.
  • Will Levis – Don’t love it. Don’t want it. But, if it happens, I will absolutely brainwash myself into liking it by force-feeding myself bananas with the peel on and drinking coffee with mayo in it.
  • Cody Mauch – Maybe the most versatile offensive lineman in the draft, Mauch plays with strong punch and a mean streak. Guard…center…wherever you need him, he could be a piece to build upon along the offensive line.
  • Michael Mayer – I don’t see a lot of Titans fans talking about Mayer, but this would be a pretty safe pick that would make the offense better. Mayer, Chig Okonkwo, and Trevon Wesco would make for quite the tight end room.
  • Anthony Richardson – I’m on the AR train. He’s my #1 option on the Titans wish list tomorrow night, but I don’t think they’ll ultimately give up what it takes to get him.
  • Kelee Ringo – They met with Ringo, and he’s one of those fringe first round corners. I like him a lot better than I thought I would after seeing the discourse on Draft Twitter. He’s fast and physical – I can absolutely see why this regime would like him.
  • John Michael Schmitz – Similar to Avila/Mauch, this isn’t the most urgent need, but it would be a good pick for the future of the franchise as JMS brings that sort of ’10-year starter’ vibe to the offensive line.
  • Peter Skoronski – About as safe as safe can get.
  • CJ Stroud – I’m not too terribly bothered by the S2 stuff because the processing issues show up on the tape. There’s certainly some bust potential with Stroud, but I still like the ball placement skills. Same philosophy as my take on Hendon Hooker below, but Stroud clearly has much higher upside.
  • Lukas Van Ness – I am mad y’all made me watch his tape because you kept mocking him to the Titans back in February and March.
  • Darnell Washington – I love Washington. Read my Mayer take, but add a lot more acrobatic and athletic upside.
  • Wide receivers – Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Jalin Hyatt, Josh Downs, Zay Flowers, Quentin Johnston, and Jordan Addison. I’m a no on Addison and Hyatt. JSN is the only one I’d consider at #11. And, I’m perfectly fine with Flowers or Johnston in a trade down scenario. I would love Downs as well, with the contingency being they’d have to go get a Jonathan Mingo, Cedric Tillman, or AT Perry in the third round to boot.
  • Tyree Wilson – I like Wilson more than others seem to. I see an NFL-ready edge setter with massive Myles Garrett-esque upside as a pass rusher if you can coach that into him.
  • Devon Witherspoon – I like Witherspoon, and he certainly seems like the tenacious player Mike Vrabel covets, but he has a couple issues that I nitpick in my report that would make me leery of taking him at #11.
  • Bryce Young – A pointless exercise, I know…but this was the report that started the series back in February when rumors were flying that the Titans would trade up to the #1 overall spot.

Names to Watch

  • Darnell Wright – A far more complete tackle prospect than you may think, but oh boy, would I have some questions about why he’s hopping into people’s DMs on Twitter to chew them out.
  • Emmanuel Forbes – I love Forbes’ ball-hawking ability, but at some point, the Titans need to hit on a big corner. Forbes is an outlier given his frame.
  • Joey Porter Jr. – Porter has size, length, offensive lineman arms, and good press skills, but he’s grabby down the field, and that sounds an awful lot like “dumb shit to hurt the team” to me.
  • O’Cyrus Torrence – Torrence is a departure from what they’ve been spending time and visits on along the offensive line this draft process. A pure pop-and-squat road grader in the run game to me, I’m not sure of his upside as a pass protector. They have spent some time with him nonetheless.
  • Hendon Hooker – I would not be surprised at all if Hooker was the plan at quarterback for the Titans in a trade-down scenario. I like Hooker a lot more than I thought I would. I think he flashes some nice throws from a sound technical base. It’s not there on his tape consistently, but there’s something there to build on, and as long as that ACL is gravy, he absolutely has the leadership traits you look for. He might not galvanize the fan base the way a Bryce Young would, but he could be a serviceable quarterback on a rookie contract.
  • Adetomiwa Adebawore – Give me the freak, baby. I don’t care that it’s not a position of need.
  • Anton Harrison – I want to see more pop and drive in the run game out of Harrison, but I won’t deny that he may be the best pure pass protector in this draft class, and so far, that’s what the Titans have been looking at.
  • Matthew Bergeron – See: Anton Harrison, but with more upside as a run blocker in space.
  • Jalen Carter – If he falls all the way to #11, do you at least entertain the thought?!?!
  • Tyler Scott – I only mention Scott here as a trade-down candidate because he seemed to be one of the prospects they were MOST interested in and this receiving corps needs an injection of speed.
  • Bijan Robinson – Life after Derrick Henry, folks. We might want to start getting used to the idea.

First round or otherwise, guys I’d be willing to bet are going to be Titans by the end of the weekend: Jaelyn Duncan, Marte Mapu, Tyler Scott, Joey Fisher

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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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