Tennessee Titans 2017 NFL Mock Draft
I love the NFL Draft. I can’t help it.
Maybe it is the years of being a Titans fan and constantly looking the top 1-20ish range for top talent that would make this team a contender. Maybe it goes back to when Bud Adams and Jeff Fisher would be ultra conservative in free agency so that they could get a ton of comp picks.
I don’t know how to pin it down, but I love the NFL Draft. So, when Matt Miller posts his weekly scouting notebook, you can bet that I will sit down and dissect that as much as I can from a Titans heavy perspective.
When he talks about the draft prospects, I like to go over to FanSpeak and run a mock draft simulation. (Not a plug, but they are great for getting different scenarios.)
So, let’s see who I came out with in this week’s simulation.
1st round, pick 12: Reuben Foster LB, Alabama
The Titans need explosiveness on offense. However, this is a pick I love for the Titans both in real life and in mocks because it makes sense on so many levels.
If the Titans are going to have a slower, inside run based linebacker like Avery Williamson (who I like) then they need a speed element beside him to prevent offenses from scheming him into bad positions.
Also, the New England Patriots loved drafting SEC ILBs, they had Jerod Mayo (1st round), Brandon Spikes (2nd round) and Dont’a Hightower (1st round) who they drafted in a 5 year span. That is a lot of draft capitol on a very specific type of player.
He is a rangy thumper who will play special teams in year one, and who can come along in nickel packages and different formations until they are comfortable with him in the defense full time (which should be very quickly).
Speaking of Matt Miller, he has him ranked as the 3rd player on his big board behind just Myles Garrett and Leonard Fournette.
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1st round, pick 14: Desmond King CB, Iowa
For some reason people forget about King, but I guarantee they won’t at this time next year. If Foster is an almost certainty for the Titans, then this is just a hair below that.
He is:
-A senior (which they love)
-An award winner at his position
-People rave about him off the field and in the locker room
-He is a force in the running game and a complete player
-He has 9 interceptions in the last two years and that is with teams avoiding him.
A steady, explosive, 4-down CB that affects passes is exactly what I would expect Jon Robinson to look for here.
3rd round, pick 76: John Ross WR, Washington
Ross probably won’t be here in real life once he tests in Indy. He is going to be the next Will Fuller, except he doesn’t drop passes and he is a kick returner. The only question is will people be afraid of a wide receiver who is 5’11 190 lb. who just came off of a knee injury.
Ross can play outside or in the slot depending on what the Titans do with Kendall Wright. Either way, if you want speed this is your guy.
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3rd round, pick 78: Sidney Jones CB, Washington
Another player who probably won’t be here in April. Jones is one of the most natural CBs I have seen in the past few years and he comes from the same defensive staff that produced Marcus Peters.
Having King and Jason McCourty on the outsides with Jones matching up with slot wide receivers would be absolutely lethal. It would allow the Titans to be even more aggressive with blitzes.
Any regrets?
I love the way the defense turned out. I would have liked a playmaking safety, but I think that Kevin Byard and Daimion Stafford could turn out to be a really good pairing.
A top tight end would have been nice to pair with Delanie Walker given how heavily the Titans feature the tight end on a down to down basis. However, getting John Ross and moving Tajae Sharpe to the slot should give the Titans a very talented four-deep receiver chart if they keep Wright.
If not, then the tight end position will be a little bit harder to defend, especially with Jones being a luxury after the need had been addressed.
A speed rusher would have been nice as well, but it is hard to argue with the way Derrick Morgan and Brian Orakpo have been playing up until this point.
What next?
I would probably look at some tight ends and slot receivers like I said. I might also look VERY hard at a special teams star. Someone who probably won’t start on defense or offense, but who can be a full time return man and special teams player.
If Tennessee’s Cam Sutton is healthy, then I could see him being ranked ahead of a lot of CBs by the end of the third round given his accolades as a return man and CB. But that ankle injury may scare them away given that this team loves players that are ready, not “projects”.
That being said, Cam Sutton is really really good. So even with all the CBs already I wouldn’t be mad with him at all at any point past this.