Titans First Round Options: Kelee Ringo

The Titans have met with Georgia cornerback Kelee Ringo, so Stoney Keeley fires up the tape on this edition of Titans First Round Options.

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The 2023 NFL Draft takes place April 27-29 this year, emanating LIVE from Kansas City, Missouri. As it stands, the Tennessee Titans have one first round draft pick. New general manager Ran Carthon and head coach Mike Vrabel currently hold the 11th overall selection. Over the next couple of months, I’ll be taking a look at some of the prospects who are either rumored to be tied to, have met with, who make sense for the Titans, or who are for some reason being mocked to the Titans even though they don’t really have a need at the position. Whatever – there are no rules here. Today, we’re lookin’ at Georgia cornerback Kelee Ringo.

I’m a fan of what the Titans have done to beef up the defense and fill holes on that side of the ball so far this offseason. The Sean Murphy-Bunting signing was A-okay in my book. But, what I’m about to say could potentially be deemed a hot take – I’m not sure of what the future of the cornerback position looks like for the Titans. I’m not positive they’re sold on Kristian Fulton. Caleb Farley hasn’t panned out. And, I wouldn’t be surprised if a move inside was in the cards for Roger McCreary. So, I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see the Titans select a cornerback in the first round this year. Now, is Ringo going to be the pick at #11? I would think not with names like Christian Gonzalez, Devon Witherspoon, Deonte Banks, and/or Joey Porter Jr. still on the board. But, they’ve met with Ringo, and he could be in play should the Titans find a trade partner and move back into the 20s.

He is a dude at 6’2″ 207 pounds, and he had one of the better Relative Athletic Scores among cornerbacks at the Scouting Combine, where I thought he showed to be a pretty good mover with a 1.49 10-yard split. Ringo has had the pedigree of a champion at every level – from winning state championships in high school to earning a top 10 spot in his recruiting class to Second-Team All-SEC with two National Championship rings to boot.

I like Ringo a lot more than I thought I would from seeing the opinions about him pop up on my Twitter feed. I was expecting “holy shit – why is this guy even in the Draft?” What I landed on was, “hey – this guy’s not as bad as everyone seems to think and there’s definitely a path to success for him in the NFL.” His speed immediately stands out – he’s a guy that is capable of mirroring anybody, and his closing speed is evident when a guy actually catches a ball near him. He also has good recovery speed (though his technique can sometimes put him in situations where he needs to recover). But, it was his alignment and command of the position that impressed me the most.

Against Tennessee, I noticed him communicating, passing his guy off to another DB when needed, and staying disciplined in his zone. They really played that Vols offense well, covering their unique formations in a way that made it difficult for receivers to break inside with Ringo aligned directly in front of them. Hendon Hooker didn’t test Ringo all that much – when he did, it was from a short comeback route that Ringo bit too hard on and drifted 10 yards further down the field than the guy he was covering. That sort of thing shows up pretty regularly on Ringo’s tape – he’s got to be more fluid against those types of routes.

I saw some of the things that people criticize Ringo for, but they happened much less frequently than I would’ve thought reading the discourse on Draft Twitter. The lack of fluidity shows up in situations in which he’s required to quickly turn his hips and change direction. It bit him badly on a play against Tennessee during which the receiver suddenly cut inside when Ringo wasn’t ready for it and got open by a mile. At other times, it felt like he turned his hips way too early and found himself swimming to get back into position. But, that shouldn’t undo all of the reps during which he was completely removing his side of the field as an option. He can be kind of clunky with his footwork at times. He has the speed to mirror guys in college, but I guess the concern is in projecting that to the NFL where every split second matters. He plays in front of receivers a lot, and that positioning does open him up to those lethal in-breaking routes. I caught him bear hugging a guy down the field in the Missouri game, and he does tend to get handsy a little too far down the field at times.

I don’t know if this is a reach or not, but I think we might be miscasting Ringo as a press corner (or maybe I’m just reading the wrong parts of Draft Twitter). Put this guy in a zone-heavy system and he could thrive. He could stand to be a little less grabby downfield and a little more scrappy at the line of scrimmage, but by and large, his zone discipline and speed highlight a skill set that I could totally see the Titans valuing and having significant interest in, even if he’s not at his best 1:1 with twitchy receivers. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Ringo is the pick at #41, but if the Titans are able to trade back, they may go ahead and grab him in the first.

Further Reading: UGA’s Kelee Ringo opens up his predraft process, pro comparison

2023 TITANS FIRST ROUND OPTIONS

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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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