The Titans receive six picks from Los Angeles – four from this year’s draft and two in 2017 – while the Rams get Tennessee’s top pick and its fourth- and sixth-rounders this 2016. And after that huge deal, the Titans now have nine picks in the upcoming draft, with a whopping six picks in the top-76 tier.
And with that, let’s now break down how the boys from the Music City will likely orchestrate their rebuilding process given the new instruments that they acquired for their ensemble.
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2016 NFL Draft Central: Tennessee Titans
Round 1: Pick #1 (15th overall) – OT Jack Conklin – Michigan State
NEEDS at OT: There’s no doubt at this point that the Titans really want to go forward with Marcus Mariota as their quarterback. He’s a two-way QB that can torch you both with his arm and his feet… but only when he’s healthy. In his rookie campaign, Mariota played only 12 games mainly because of the injuries he suffered during the season due to his team’s porous offensive line. Now the Titans can do right of their star player by drafting a tenacious lineman or two to keep him from constantly getting taken down and getting hurt on the field.
STRENGTHS: The 6-foot-6, 308-pound Conklin made the Spartans’ Connor Cook look good, and he’s now ready to take his skills to the pro level by guarding one of the most exciting and promising quarterbacks there is. The Titans may have given up their chance at grabbing the best tackle in Laremy Tunsil back wen they had the first-overall pick of the draft, but there’s quite an abundance of solid linemen on the market. Conklin’s natural position is at left tackle already, so he’ll be a perfect fit for Tennessee in providing Mariota the blindside coverage he desperately needs.
Round 2: Pick #2 (33rd overall) – SS Su’a Cravens – USC
NEEDS at SS: The Titans are also thin on pass coverage, and the team would want to take Jalen Ramsey from the top 10 as much as possible if they can make even more moves to climb a few more rungs up in the draft with their wealth of picks. Then again, the draft is filled with talented backfield defenders that they can hold out on one until the second round.
STRENGTHS: Su’a Cravens played two positions for USC: first as a safety, then as a linebacker (strongside outside linebacker, to be specific, which is basically a hybrid between a safety and a natural OLB). The Trojans made great use of the 20-year-old kid’s unique build and skill set at this position, and his NFL career’s trajectory seems to be leaning back towards playing strong safety. Regardless of the role that he’ll ultimately play, Cravens can do all sorts of damage for Tennessee’s D.
Round 2: Pick #3 (43rd overall) – WR Pharoh Cooper – South Carolina
NEEDS at WR: It’s now time to give Mariota some weapons in the passing game. Because let’s face it: Tennessee’s not scaring anyone this season with a receiving corps composed of Dorial Green-Beckham, Kendall Wright and Harry Douglas.
STRENGTHS: Pharoh Cooper of South Carolina is the type of receiver meant to make Mariota’s life in the passing game that much easier. He has no particular trait that stands out like speed or height, but he served as a viable jack-of-all-trades in the Gamecock’s offense. Cooper needs to work on his route-running, but that can be worked on in training camp and his overall reliability in the passing game will surely make an immediate impact nonetheless.
Round 2: Pick #4 (45th overall) – OT Germain Ifedi – Texas A&M
NEEDS at OT: You can never go wrong with more brawn in the O-line. And it’s not just Mariota that needs help, as Tennessee’s prized offseason signing in running back DeMarco Murray would also need a solid front to create holes for him in the ground game.
STRENGTHS: The Aggies’ Germain Ifedi play both at guard and at right tackle in college, and settled at the latter position in his last two seasons with the team. The 324-pound Houston native is a three-year star for a Texas A&M program that has produced standout linemen like Jake Matthews and Luke Joeckel, so Ifedi’s solid upbringing in College Station gives him an edge over some of the other linemen projected to go in the first and second rounds of the draft.
Round 3: Pick #5 (64th overall) – CB Will Redmond – Mississippi State
NEEDS at CB: Tennessee shouldn’t stop its recruitment off defensive backs while there’s still a lot of quality prospects in the third round, so tapping into the deep cornerback well is where the team should still focus on at this point in the draft. Yet since the Titans probably knocked their second-round pick out of the park with Cravens already, they can take on a corner with high upside and a little more risk up next.
STRENGTHS: If not for a torn ACL that caused him to start just seven games in his final season with Mississippi State, Will Redmond would’ve been a mid- or late first-round selection. Still, Redmond’s aggressiveness and awareness as a shut-down corner is so suited for the pros already, that the Titans need only to worry about his long-term durability and conditioning to become a fixture of the team’s base 3-4 scheme.
The Titans have nine picks in the 2016 NFL Draft:
- Round One – #15 overall
- Round Two – #33 overall
- Round Two – #43 Overall
- Round Two – #45 overall
- Round Three – #64 overall
- Round Three – #76 overall
- Round Five – #140 overall
- Round Six – #193 overall
- Round Seven – #222 overall
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