The 2021 NFL Draft takes place April 29-May 1 this year, emanating LIVE from Cleveland, Ohio. As it stands, the Tennessee Titans have one first round draft pick. General manager Jon Robinson and head coach Mike Vrabel currently hold the 22nd overall selection. Over the next few weeks, your boy “Big Natural” Stoney Keeley will be taking a look at some of the prospects who are either rumored to be tied to or who make sense for the Titans. Today, we’re lookin’ at Tulsa linebacker Zaven Collins.
Just because the Titans paid all that money to the heat-seeking missile Bud Dupree doesn’t mean they’re out of the woods in the pass rush quite yet. It’s clear so far that the objectives of the offseason are to beef up the pass rush group and add some man coverage specialists in the secondary. Folks – ya gots to. That defense was putrid in 2020, and the anemic pass rush was one of the biggest culprits for that. So, you get the thoroughbred in Dupree. You have a solid sack guy in Harold Landry. But, it’s like I’ve said all offseason – this isn’t a one-or-two-guys type of problem. The rotation needs to be completely blown up and built up from scratch. I would like to see another veteran specialist added to the mix, and I don’t think it’s outside the realm of possibility that the Titans spend another high draft pick on an edge rusher. Studs on studs on studs – that’s what this unit needs right now. If you can get to the quarterback, and your guys on the back end can actually cover, you’ve made great strides in getting this defense back on track.
And, based on this recent clip of J-Rob out there with the pads working with Collins at Tulsa’s Pro Day, I’d say I’m not too far off in that assessment.
Titans GM Jon Robinson running the LB drills at Zaven Collins’ pro day pic.twitter.com/t4F2ISgj8t
— Andrew Groover (@APGroover) April 2, 2021
Man, this Titans regime loves to get out there and slap pads around. It’s almost as if J-Rob and Vrabel want the world to know what big football guys they are. Regardless, Collins is a massive hoss – 6’4″, 260 pounds. He’s a freak athlete given his size and the position he plays. I don’t know that he’s a pure pass rusher, though. He can drop into coverage like a boss. He was used as a spy, mirroring quarterbacks, and jumping into throwing lanes, creating turnovers and tallying interceptions. But, I just don’t know that he’s the guy you’re going to turn loose on the edge to take down the quarterback.
“It looks like there are three of him” -that announcer in the video (sorry, it’s the best source-citing I can do). The first thing I noticed about Collins is the versatility of his game. And, you want to talk about production (which we know J-Rob loves), Collins has been one of the best in the game at his position for three years. I love the range he has in coverage, but it all depends on what the Titans want. I’ve seen Collins mocked to the Titans a few times, and I think that could make sense in a couple of different ways, but I don’t think you should expect this guy to be an elite edge rusher. For one, he’s not going to be asked to be THE primary rusher – that’s Dupree’s distinction, with Landry in support. But, he would be a more dynamic chess piece that could occasionally help out in the pass rush when the game plan calls for it. Two, though he’s listed as an OLB, his tape just screams ‘inside linebacker in the NFL’ to me – so while that might not put numbers at the OLB position, Collins could be in play as a contingency plan at ILB should the team elect to move on from Rashaan Evans after 2021. Maybe that’s just me spitballin’ here, but Collins is a guy that can be used in multiple ways. I like Collins a lot as a prospect. I just don’t know that he’s necessarily the best fit for the Titans.
Further Reading: Zaven Collins motivated by past slights as under-recuited prospect
2021 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 and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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