Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Mock Draft Monday - TDN's Mock Draft, Mock Draft Round-Up & My Personal Mock

Episode Date: April 6, 2020

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Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, you know what day it is and it's time to kick off the week with a Mock Draft Monday presented by the Draft Network. And I want to thank you guys who reach out to me and let me know just how much you enjoy these Mock Draft Monday episodes and I enjoy them greatly as well. And while the mock drafts that we cover may not get the pick for the Titans exactly right, and I mean with the amount of mock drafts that we discuss, some of these writers and draft experts will get the pick right just based on, you know, the different ones that we go through. But the point of mock draft Monday isn't necessarily the accuracy and guessing the Titans pick right. It's just a great opportunity to talk about team needs for the Titans when you look at the roster. Talk about value and need based on round, based on positional value.

All of those different discussions can take place. And then, of course, we get to break down all of these prospects that we talk about. Their strengths strengths their weaknesses how they could fit into the titan scheme and fit into the titans roster and make an impact for this team as they try to take the next step and get to a super bowl and the draft the actual draft is less than 20 days away now taking place on april 23rd as we've discussed has been confirmed by the nfl so we have a short amount of time and want to maximize it and get as ready as possible for the draft coming up in just a few short weeks.

So of course, in partnership with the Draft Network, we are going to take a look at their mock draft Monday release. This one comes from Joe Marino. And if you remember Joe, he is the host of the Locked on Bills podcast. He is an integral part of the Draft Network website, one of the leaders over there. He does fantastic work and everyone over there does. So I implore you, as I do every week, to go check out that website and we will be utilizing it in multiple ways throughout today's show.

So in our first segment, we will go over Joe Marino's mock draft for the Titans. It is a three-rounder, so we will discuss all of those selections. And then we will get into our weekly mock draft roundup. So we will take a look around the football sphere and around the draft community and see what other experts are projecting for the Titans. So we have some good ones there from different outlets, as we always do. And then I will round off the show with my own personal mock draft, which actually comes from the mock

draft simulator at the draftnetwork.com. So go check that out if you want to play around a little bit with your own mock draft. So I will give you the one that I did. I did a quick three rounder for you guys, just so I could show you what I think would be a pretty good outcome for the Titans in the first three rounds. So a lot to get into today. I love these mock draft episodes, and we have a lot of prospects to talk about. So a lot to dive in with you guys. Let's get it. In Joe Marino's latest Mock Draft Monday release from the Draft Network, he has the Titans looking to replenish their depth and talent along the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball

with his three selections for the Titans in this three-round mock draft. And he has them kicking off the effort on the defensive side of the ball with their three-round mock draft, and he has them kicking off the effort on the defensive side of the ball with their first-round pick, the 29th overall pick, the Titans select A.J. Espinosa, defensive lineman out of Iowa, and Espinosa is 6'6", 280 pounds, could even be asked to put on a little bit more weight as he slides into a versatile role with the Titans defense. He could play a five technique position in their base 3-4, which is a role vacated by the trade of Jarrell Casey. He could also slide into the interior with Jeffrey Simmons in pass rush situations, giving

the Titans a very versatile defensive front with a lot of guys who can not only play a singular position, but can move up and down the line of scrimmage especially someone like Espinosa who not only played on the interior in Iowa but mostly played on the edge so Espinosa would give you value there as well he has very strong hands and a strong base he's just generally a very strong guy and at that size that would be your expectation but he also has great hand technique he does a great job in pass rush situations beating offensive linemen by pushing and pulling and putting those two moves together he also has a variety of swipes and counters to

his pass rush moves he'll be a very good bull rusher at the next level. Now, speaking of his pass rush winning ability, he does lose some ability there because he's not a twitchy, bursty athlete. He's not a guy with incredible bend who's going to come off the edge very quickly with a quick burst off the line of scrimmage. Like I said, he's going to win with hand fighting and win with his strength and converting his strength into other pass rush moves but he would give the Titans a good versatile penetrator on the defensive line that can go with all the other young talent and because of his versatility it's extra value for the Titans to not only replace Jarrell Casey's production in the middle but also possibly have an option on the edge as

they look to bolster that group if in fact they aren't able to add anything else in free agency so while he's not the twitchy bursty athlete he does have incredible strength and good technique and you could ask for a little bit more effort from Espinosa looking at the film compared to some of his teammates at Iowa who gave maximum effort there were some plays that he took off now the Titans defense is filled with veterans who give incredible effort at all times, and it would be logical to think that those veterans would be able to hold Espinosa accountable to get the most out of him that the Titans can. With the second round pick for the Titans, pick 61, Marino had the Titans selecting Devon Hamilton the interior defensive

lineman out of Ohio State and like I said it seems like Marino has the Titans focused on replenishing their depth up front and this would be another move to replace Jarrell Casey to replace Austin Johnson on the interior to go along with the signing of Jack Crawford and then of course the first round pick of Espinosa but Devon Hamilton is mostly a nose tackle and this may be a pick if the Titans are looking to potentially move on from a very expensive Daquan Jones after the 2020 season could be in preparation for that because Hamilton is six foot four 327 pounds he has a little bit of potential as a rusher, but mostly is going to be a run stuffer on the interior at the one technique, basically nose tackle with possibly

some ability to play three technique, but mostly will be counted on as a run stuffer on the interior. And then with the third round selection for the Titans, pick 93. He has them going with Sadiq Charles, the offensive tackle out of LSU. We have talked about Charles quite a bit on this podcast. He has a good athletic profile that would match up with the Titans' outside zone, inside zone running scheme. He also played in a pro-style offense at LSU, and that should make his learning curve a little bit smaller, a little bit shorter as he transitions into the NFL and potentially takes over for Dennis Kelly at some point in time.

But Sadiq Charles is a very athletic offensive tackle that, like I mentioned, could fit into the Titans' zone running scheme very easily with a few years of positive coaching as he sits behind Dennis Kelly. So overall, I think it's a pretty solid mock draft for the Titans. While I don't necessarily love that second pick of Devon Hamilton as a nose tackle interior defensive lineman, I guess I do understand why Marino's looking at the Titans roster and thinking they need more than just Espinosa on the defensive line.

He also has Marino, of course. Joe Marino has some really interesting moves in his mock draft. The Patriots trading up to number seven for Jordan Love. The Chargers trading up to four for Tua. So a lot of fun, interesting scenarios being played out in that mock draft. The latest Mock Draft Monday release from the Draft Network should be up by the time that you guys are listening to this, so make sure you go check that out as well. If you enjoy these Mock Draft Monday events,

also all the other content that I'm bringing to you guys Monday through Friday, make sure that you are subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast, Apple podcast, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, wherever you stream your podcast, whatever platform you use, you can find the Locked on Titans podcast there. So please make sure that you are subscribed to the show if you are not already. But that is going to do it for our first segment.

We are going to come back into our mock draft roundup. So we will go around the draft community and take a look at what some other draft pundits from some other outlets have to say about the Titans selections coming up in the draft. It is time for a mock draft roundup. Let's go around the draft community, take a look at what some other draft pundits have to say about the Titans from some other outlets here. We will take a look first at a mock draft from Jeff Kerr from CBS Sports. I picked this one out because I want to talk about this position specifically and how it relates to the Titans, at least in the first round.

And Kerr has the Titans selecting DeAndre Swift, the running back out of Georgia, with the 29th pick in the first round. And I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about running back in general and I think the Titans could go two different ways and it's gonna tell us a lot about how they feel about the long-term negotiations with Derrick Henry so in this scenario I don't think it's crazy that the Titans would take a running back in the first round if they can get their hands on Swift anything after that any other running backs I think the Titans should probably wait to the second round no matter what because the reality is the running back position, the reasons you have trouble paying the running back positions or the running back position is

the same reason why you probably don't want to give them a first round contract with a fifth year option, all of that involved. So it's probably best to draft running back out of the first round. But if the Titans can get DeAndre Swift, I would consider it. And like I said, depending on the type of running back they take will tell us a lot about how they feel about the long-term viability of Derrick Henry on the Titans. Because if they take someone like DeAndre Swift, in my opinion, they are drafting a running back that complements Derrick Henry. That would be a pass catcher, a speed back, a quick back who can do the things that Henry doesn't necessarily do well, a full route tree from a running back, wheel routes, stick routes. We're talking about,

you know, inside angle routes and things like that that Henry just simply can't do. He doesn't have the body to be able to run a full route tree for a running back. He can take a screen, you know, 80 yards. He can catch one out in the flat on a check down, but he doesn't give you a lot in the passing game. So if you have somebody like Swift, that would compliment Derek Henry. But if they go with somebody like a Jonathan Taylor, they go with a J.K. Dobbins, they go with Zach Moss. Now you're talking about guys that kind of do similar things to Henry, and that may be a sign that they're preparing for life after Derrick Henry. But if they go with a Cam Akers, a DeAndre Swift, a Clyde Edwards Hilaire, something like that in one of the first three rounds, then you're looking at a compliment to Derrick Henry. It

maybe could mean that they feel very good about getting a long-term deal done with Henry. So just something to keep an eye on with how the Titans treat the running back position. I think that this offense, while bringing back most of the core pieces and pretty much everybody from last year, I still think that this offense needs another level if they want to compete with the big boys nonstop, consistently getting to the AFC championship. The offense needs more explosiveness. That's a fact, even though it was incredibly explosive last year. But the defense also needs some help as well, as we know. So let's get into the next mock draft, which comes from our guy, Luke Easterling. He's consistently putting out mock drafts, from our guy Luke Easterling he's consistently putting out mock drafts and I enjoy his content and his breakdown so let's take a look at a three-round

mock draft that comes from him Luke Easterling from DraftWire from the USA Today and his first pick for the Titans is Yoturgros Matos he's a little bit more explosive than Espinosa not as big and as strong as Espinosa adds a little bit more versatility if you're talking about an edge rusher but Yoturgros Matos the reasons I like him as a pick for the Titans are basically the same as Espinosa and the versatility that you're getting there so the Titans restock on the defensive line I think that makes a ton of sense the next pick for the Titans the second round selection that makes a ton of sense. The next pick for the Titans, the second round selection that Easterling has, is J.K. Dobbins, and that's why I brought this up with DeAndre Swift with Kerr's mock draft, the first one. If the Titans go out and get someone like J.K. Dobbins, I think that they're looking at a future without Derrick Henry. Now, that's

maybe a little bit too strong of a proclamation, too much of a hot take, and maybe I'm taking too much from that because J.K. Dobbins does have the ability to compliment Derrick Henry, but he's not quite the pass catcher and scat back, satellite back that you would think based on his size. He really hurt the Buckeyes in their playoff game that they lost against Clemson with multiple drops. So it's not like he's a DeAndre Swift level pass catching back. But I think, like I said, that might be a hint that the Titans don't have a very optimistic view of getting a long-term deal done with Derrick Henry.

But maybe I'm putting too much stock in that. We will see. And then with the third selection, he asked for the Titans here. Easterling has them going with an interior offensive lineman out of Oregon, Shane Lemieux. And I understand, you know, Ben Jones isn't getting any older. Roger Saffold isn't getting any older. I've said this multiple podcasts. Nate Davis could always use some competition.

He wasn't so good that I'm willing to just be like, yeah, that's the starting right guard for a decade so I get the idea there but you know the the Titans aren't gonna spend this high of a pick to add that depth I just don't see that happening so I wrote down an alternate selection for this pick Amik Robertson is available at this pick for the Titans where Easterling has them going with Lemieux and going defensive line running back I think at this moment in time would be a good idea to go corner so I would like to see the Titans go after a Meek Robertson if this mock draft I guess played out in real life I think the cornerback position and I like Robertson we haven't talked

a lot about him and I will speak about him in our cornerback-specific episode, but he's a small guy, 5'9", 170-some pounds, but man, he is feisty. Man, he has ball skills and is always around the football, and while he's coming out of Louisiana Tech, and that's a small school, the Titans have hit on a small school defensive back before, and it turned out pretty well. So, I like Amik Robertson as a slot corner in the third round or later. If he's there in the fourth, fifth, which he could be due to his size, that would be a great pickup for the Titans. And then the next mock draft we have comes from NFL.com. It is Charles Davis, who is pretty close to the Titans organization

as he does their broadcasting for preseason games. So Charles Davis has a good idea of what the Titans are looking for, but with his selection, it just seems like he's a bit behind on the information, or maybe he's not as tuned into the Titans organization as maybe I'm getting him credit for. Maybe I am just completely offbeat of what the Titans could be looking to do, but he has them going with Josh Jones, offensive tackle out of Houston, and we've talked about the offensive tackle first round pick quite a bit for the Titans, and with their confidence in the way they spoke about Dennis Kelly and what it seems like they promised him, the opportunity to start bringing in Ty Sambrillo, I don't, I think the Titans did that so that they don't have to take an offensive tackle

in the first round. I think that's why they made those moves, so I do see the Titans did that so that they don't have to take an offensive tackle in the first round. I think that's why they made those moves. So I do see the Titans targeting offensive tackle to try to get a developmental prospect in the later rounds. I just don't see them going with that position in the first round at this moment in time. They need a playmaker, whether that be at running back, at wide receiver, at cornerback, on the defensive line.

They need a playmaker. And I don't think taking a guy who's going to be a backup off the rip for the first season in the first round is a great idea. And I don't see the Titans going offensive tackle first round unless one of the top four guys, Thomas, Becton, Wirfs, Wills, if they drop down to 29, then the value makes sense. But going after Jones, Jones Austin Jackson some people say Ezra Cleveland is shooting up boards Isaiah Wilson I just don't see the Titans going with those type of second tier offensive tackles in the first round so we are going to move into our last

mock draft of the mock draft roundup and that comes from a very popular draft pundit and that's Matt Miller of Bleacher Report he He put out a seven-round mock draft. The Titans have three picks in the seventh round right now, and while I don't expect that to be the case afterwards, it is a good opportunity to take a look at what a full seven-round mock draft could look like for the Titans. I did the first five rounds for you so that we can, you know, actually take advantage of this time and be efficient. With the first pick for the Titans, the 29th pick in the first round, Miller had them going with cornerback Jalen Johnson out of Utah. Johnson is incredibly aggressive.

He's really long and has good speed as well, so the Titans love a press man corner with length and could target Johnson at the back end of the first round if the other top four corners, Fulton, Gladney, Okuda, and Henderson are all off the board. With the second pick in the, you know, the second round pick for the Titans, he has them going offensive tackle, Pris Tego Wanago from Auburn. I would understand that selection. like I said in the previous mock that we talked about I would like to see the Titans maybe go third fourth round uh Brandon Ayuk wide receiver out of Arizona State the burner who can get downfield was available with the Titans second pick I would

like to see them go with Ayuk instead and add an element to this offense that I think the Titans are sorely missing you can can talk about Kalief Raymond. You can talk about Cam Batson. I just think the Titans need a stud speed receiver to really take the top off the defense. Corey Davis, A.J. Brown, Adam Humphreys, none of them do that. None of them offer that ability. So that would be a good wrinkle for the Titans to add. Miller had the Titans in the third round going with that wide receiver threat. Devin

Duvernay out of Texas, but in my alternate version of this, if the Titans would have went Brandon Ayuk with their second round pick and not win offensive tackle, then they could have went Sadiq Charles from LSU in the third round, which I don't know if you guys have noticed, but I just see him as a great mid-round value for the Titans with his athleticism and his knowledge of a pro style system coming out of LSU coming out of the SEC and playing with Joe Brady who is the offensive coordinator for the Panthers now who was the offensive coordinator for LSU last year and is responsible a lot responsible mostly not mostly that's not fair but has a lot of responsibility when we talk about Joe Burrow's ascension to being the number one pick

and then the Titans don't have a fourth round selection due to the Ryan Tannehill trade so in the fifth round in the last pick we're going to cover a Miller's mock draft he has the Titans going with Khalil Davis the interior defensive lineman out of Nebraska and once again adding depth to the interior defensive line does make sense for the Titans later on in the mid rounds of the draft so that is going to do it rounds of the draft. So that is going to do it for our mock draft roundup. We are going to move on to my personal mock draft from the mock draft simulator at the draftnetwork.com. let's take a look at my personal mock draft simulation from the draft network and i want to just give you guys an idea of what i was looking at and my thought process while this

was going on so obviously the titans will have to depend on what happens in front of them to really be able to make a decision sitting at pick 29 in the first round at least it's going to be difficult for the Titans to to really plan too much they're kind of just going to have to see how things go being that low down and it is uh enjoyable to be that low down knowing how the you know Titan season played out so hopefully they are making late first round picks for quite a bit but the drought plays out as you would expect the top offensive tackles all end up going by pick 15 the top wide receivers the top three wide receivers all end up going within the top 21 selections. We see the top four cornerbacks going within the top 20.

Josh Jones even is off the board. Yoturgros Matos gets taken two picks before the Titans at 27. So with the top four corners off the board, with the top five offensive tackles off the board, with Yoturgros Matos off the board, with the top four wide receivers off the board with Yotargros Matos off the board with the top four wide receivers off the board with DeAndre Swift off the board who went very early on in this simulation actually picked 16 to the Falcons so the Titans sitting here be kind of a tough situation to have any kind of variety to point to because you really don't.

You're kind of pigeonholed into the only player that really makes sense for the Titans and where we started the episode is part of where we will end and that is AJ Espinosa. He was available and I've already explained why he makes sense for the Titans so with all of those different players off the board that could be of interest to the Titans I I have to go ahead and pick Espinosa. And then we get into the second round. And I just want to make this point. In the second round, this simulation from the Draft Network has Jordan Love going with the 34th pick. That's pick number two in the second round. I would love if the Titans could get the Colts or the Jaguars or someone who doesn't take a quarterback in the first round who may be interested like the Panthers who I picked 38 if they can get one of those

teams what about the Lions who have Matt Stafford dealing with tons of injuries and getting older anyway if they can get one of those teams to to jump up to the 29th pick and trade down I would absolutely love that for the Titans in the first 10 or so, 15 or so picks in the second round. I think that would make a lot of sense for them. But in the second round, you have options for the Titans that I've been looking at, like Marlon Davidson, who with the pick of A.J. Espinosa may not be on the Titans radar, but you see Ross Blacklock, you see Davidson go off the board as interior defensive lineman you see Ezra Cleveland offensive tackle go off the board Noah Igbenogany at

cornerback go off the board AJ Terrell KJ Hamler wide receiver Trevon Diggs Jalen Johnson Damon Arnett Cam Dantzler cornerback Ogle the cornerbacks are flying off the board in this second round is basically what I'm trying to let you know. And then Brandon Ayuk went directly ahead of the Titans pick in the second round, 61 to the Ravens. So with most of the second round wide receivers off the board, with most of the cornerbacks who I would draft in the first two rounds off the board, now the Titans actually get a value at offensive tackle, and this would make sense. Austin Jackson out of USC is still available at pick 61. Some people have him as a first round tackle, so getting him out of the top 60 picks in

the draft is just too much value for the Titans to turn down at that moment in time. Like I said earlier in the show, I really would look for offensive tackle later, like third, fourth round in the draft. But at this kind of value, you can't turn down a player like Austin Jackson. The Titans would have to go that route. Now, obviously, now I've gone two rounds and I haven't had a cornerback yet. And a lot of the good cornerbacks are going off the board quickly. So I was kind of pigeonholed in the third round to looking at cornerback and there's not a lot left, but someone who I spoke about earlier, who I'm pretty high on was available. And that was Amik Robertson from Louisiana Tech. Like I mentioned about Amik,

he's not very big, five foot nine, 170 some pounds, but so feisty, so competitive, so physical, so willing to go up and tackle to press people at the line of scrimmage, and he had tons of interceptions, tons of pass breakups in his time at Louisiana Tech, and as I mentioned before, when was the last time the Titans went with a small school defensive back that had incredible production and had incredible ball skills? Yeah, I had to make sure I had it pulled up. 14 interceptions and 34 pass breakups in college for Amik Robertson. The guy just knows where the football's at, and that's a trait that translates to the

NFL often. If you have someone who forces or creates turnovers, forces and completions in college, they usually do that in the NFL. And we saw that with Kevin Byard. He was incredibly productive in his time at Middle Tennessee State. So it only makes sense that the Titans would continue to look for small school defensive backs with incredible production. And they get that here with a small feisty guy and a Meek Robertson who will immediately

become the slot cornerback that the Titans are needing if they don't bring back Logan Ryan. So that is a three round mock draft from my perspective of the Titans. AJ Espinosa, Austin Jackson, and Amik Robertson. So I hope you guys enjoyed this episode of Locked on Titans. Tell your smart device to play Locked on NFL. There's a lot of general NFL news still going on. So make sure that you guys check that show out after you are done with this one. Now that we have gotten to the end of our show, as I mentioned earlier, make sure you're

subscribed to the podcast. Follow me on Twitter at Tic Tac Titans for more content as well. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.