Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Titans 2019 Draft Class Review: Immediate Impact, Pick Grades & Clowney Update

Episode Date: May 28, 2020

Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Locked On Titans Podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, today's episode is brought to you by Bilt Bar, the best tasting protein bar on the market. Make sure you go to BiltBar.com and use promo code LOCKEDON for $10 off your first order. Today's episode will be the conclusion of our draft class review series. On Monday, we hit 2016, John Robinson's

first draft class. On Tuesday, we hit 2017. Yesterday, we hit 2018. And now it's time to talk about what could be John Robinson's most immediately impactful draft class yet. So we will dive in to the 2019 draft class today. Of course, they only had one season of production, in some cases less than a full season of production. So it's fair to say that some of the draft analysis is a tad bit incomplete, but we will evaluate what these players have been able to do and what they've been able to contribute in the one season that they have been with the Titans and also project what they could possibly do going forward and what kind of role they will need to have on the Titans in the future. And then we will jump into our grade segment.

Of course, like I mentioned, the draft grades could be considered a tad incomplete, but we will grade what these players have done so far. And right now, it looks like a pretty solid class for John Robinson. So we'll talk more just about how impressive this rookie class was in 2019 and then we will wrap up the show typically throughout this draft class review series we have been doing a what if segment what other options were there for John Robinson that he could have taken instead of the players that he ended up selecting and in lieu of that because quite frankly this draft class doesn't have many what-ifs

with how stellar it was. In lieu of that, I will give you guys the most recent update on Clowney Watch. We got a good tidbit of information from Adam Schefter about where Clowney stands, about an offer that he has received. So we will review that. And then I'll also follow it up with a little bit of a Rollins rant just on some of the takes that I've seen in regards to Jadavian Clowney's situation and his relevance with the Titans so I'll just give you my quick thoughts on that excited to end this draft class review series it has been a doozy like I said make sure you go back and

check out any of the episodes that you have missed. It is excellent content to intake at this moment in time in the all season, and I am really excited to dive in to my favorite class so far, 2019. Let's get it. You could debate which of John Robinson's first four draft classes was the most impactful, but what we cannot debate is which of the draft classes made the most immediate impact. The 2019 Titans draft class is the obvious answer. Starting in round one with the 19th overall pick, defensive lineman Jeffrey Simmons. And although Simmons recovered from an ACL tear and wasn't able to play until week seven, once he got on the field, he made an immediate impact for the Titans defense in critical situations. Simmons was able to play in nine regular season games and all three playoff games with seven regular season

starts. He had two sacks, 32 tackles, four of those being for loss, and only played in 28% of the defensive snaps. Simmons is expected to take a larger role in 2020 now that Jarrell Casey has moved on and was traded to Denver, and that should leave Titans fans optimistic as Simmons made some of the biggest plays of the Titans season with being involved in the goal line stand against the Los Angeles Chargers and then the goal line stand in the playoffs against the New England Patriots. Second round pick A.J. Brown taken with the 51st overall selection may be the biggest steal of the entire draft, not only the Titans draft class.

may be the biggest steal of the entire draft, not only the Titans draft class. A.J. Brown was able to develop into the best rookie wide receiver in the NFL last year. He played in all 16 games, had a catch in all 16 games, made 11 starts, and was able to rack up 52 catches, 1,051 receiving yards, and 8 receiving touchdowns to go along with 3 carries, 60 rushing yards, and 1 rushing touchdown. And here's the kicker. A.J. Brown only played in 68% of the Titans' snaps on offense last year. Third round pick and 82nd overall, Nate Davis.

The rookie guard got off to a slow start due to an injury in training camp, but was inserted into the lineup and played 13 games, starting 12 of those, playing ultimately in 73% of the offensive snaps. Nate Davis did get off to a slow start due to injury and jumping into the lineup mid-season, but once he was able to get up to speed, it is no surprise that the Titans offense got back on track as well. Now, Nate Davis did have six false starts last year, so that is something that he will have to clean up going into year two. Fourth round pick, 116th overall safety, Amani Hooker, and the Titans

actually traded up with the Jets from pick 121 to pick 116 to secure Hooker. Hooker played safety for the Titans. He made 20 tackles throughout the season. He was able to carve out a pivotal role in two different units. On defense, playing 30% of the defensive snaps as the third safety rotated in the Titans diamond package, but also was a critical member of the special teams unit, playing 84% of the snaps over there. Fifth round pick at 168 overall was outside linebacker from Georgia, DeAndre Walker. Unfortunately, he was injured during the summer and never was able to play a snap or see the field in any capacity for the Titans. Hopefully, he will be able to make an impact in 2020, health provided.

And then the final pick of the 2019 Titans draft class was sixth round pick David Long, taken with the 188th overall selection. The linebacker out of West Virginia was able to play in 14 games for the Titans. He had 15 tackles, 13 tackles in the playoffs, including one start when Jayon Brown was injured. Long was able to play in 45% of the special team snaps in the regular season and 6% of the defensive snaps. Long was not asked to do much on defense in his rookie year, but in the moments that he was asked to play,

he made a critical force fumble in the Chiefs game that turned that game around and allowed Rashawn Evans to score a defensive touchdown, and he also made impact plays against the Baltimore Ravens in the playoffs. And then finally, with his undrafted free agent class, general manager John Robinson was able to add two decently impactful players, adding Isaiah Mack, the defensive lineman that played 13 games for the Titans, ended with one and a half sacks, playing 15% of snaps on defense and 16 on special teams, and then outside linebacker and edge rusher Derek Roberson, who played in three games for the Titans and had three sacks. Once again, maybe not Robinson's most impactful class, but most certainly the most immediate impact of the

four so far. And if you need an immediate impact, you have to check out Built Bar. Built Bars are the best tasting protein bars ever. Built Bars are not just healthy for you, but they are delicious. There are tons of amazing flavors. I like the salted caramel, the peanut butter brownie, even the raspberry chocolate mousse is something that I've tried recently

that I really enjoy. The banana nut bread, another one that I've tried recently that I really enjoy. The banana nut bread, another one that I've tried recently that I enjoy. What I really like about the bars is throwing them in the refrigerator for a little bit, letting them cool down, coming in out of the heat, and enjoying an excellent built bar. They have 16 amazing flavors. There's eight chocolate and nut flavors, eight chocolate and nut-free flavors. For any of you guys with peanut allergies, The bars are covered in 100% chocolate and you can taste the difference in the processed chocolate

that you're used to. And they're not crunchy and chewy and hard to eat and dry like most health or protein bars. They are soft and they are easy to chew. Once again, I like to throw them in the fridge a little bit, adds a little bit more texture, but it doesn't make them hard. It's just absolutely perfect. The bars not only taste good, but they are healthy as well. They're great for any health-conscious guy or girl that can help you lose or maintain weight, all while it feels like you're indulging in a treat. The bars are low-calorie.

They're low-sugar, high-protein, high-fiber. I give two examples every show. You want something to get you going in the morning, a little bit of a breakfast substitute or get you going before a workout, the peanut butter brownie, 20 grams protein, 170 calories, 3 grams sugar, 3 grams net carbs. If you want a guilt-free dessert after dinner or a little bit of a snack, the mint brownie, 15 grams protein, 110 calories, 4 grams sugar, 5 grams net carbs. Whatever bar or whatever situation you are in, there is versatility available for you

at BuiltBar.com. So go to BuiltBar.com, use promo code LOCKEDON and get $10 off your first order. Once again, that is promo code LOCKEDON for $10 off at BuiltBar.com. And when you make that purchase using promo code LOCKEDON, make sure to let me know on Twitter at TicTacTitans, and I'll make sure to give you a shout-out on the show. Titans fans, it is time to get out those red markers one more time as we have our draft grades portion of the show.

And before I jump into my personal grades, I wanted to go over some grades that were assigned by a different outlet, and that is Pro Football Focus. So obviously Pro Football Focus is an analytics based football analysis outlet and one of their writers Michael Renner wrote an article about all of the 2019 draft classes from all 32 teams and he put the Titans group at number one and he had this to say quote the Titans had the only draft where every player they selected was higher on our draft board than the slot where they were actually drafted. That's looking even more prescient by the day.

While Simmons will be a big piece of their defense come playoff time, the real kicker here is A.J. Brown. Selected midway through the second round, Brown would be a top five lock if every team were able to get a redo today. The first year pass catcher had displayed all the skills necessary to be a number one receiver and finished third among all Receivers in the NFL in terms of yards per route run when he's on the field good things happen end quote So right there all you really need to know is it's not just my evaluation This Titans 2019 rookie class was absolutely stellar. So let's get into some of my grades. I talked about Jeffrey Simmons quite a bit. Now, obviously, his grade has to be evaluated knowing that he missed the first six games of the season,

which the Titans went 2-4 in. So it's possible that if he would have been ready to go week one, he would have made an even bigger impact. But with the impact that he was able to make once he got on the field, like I mentioned earlier in the show, the goal line stands against the Chargers and the Patriots. Right there, those two sequences alone that he made a critical impact on totally changed the Titans' season. It got them over the playoff hump, gave them confidence they could make a run through the AFC, and that Chargers game that the Titans were able to win was Ryan Tannehill's first start, and if the Titans had not won, that confidence may have been lost, and a 2-5 team

may have not been able to rebound. So I'm going to give the Simmons pick right now as we stand one year removed an A-. If Simmons continues to progress, which he will have the opportunity to do heading into the Jarrell Casey role coming up in the 2020 season, that could easily be an A- this time next year. Speaking of an A+, A.J. Brown. I mean, there's no other way to grade that pick. That is an A-selection. 51st pick in the middle of the second round to get A.J. Brown,

who played in all 16 games, like I said, had a catch in all 16 games. While he kind of had to get on his feet early in terms of the amount of snaps that he was given, once he was given full trust by Arthur Smith and Mike Vrabel, he absolutely exploded. If you had to power rank the Titans that were most responsible for that surge at the end of the year, A.J. Brown would most certainly be in that top five on the entire roster, so an A-plus for A.J. Brown. Next, we have Nate Davis, and like I mentioned, Nate Davis got off to a slow start.

He wasn't fantastic in pass protection at the beginning of the year, but he got a lot better in pass protection. He was known as a run blocker coming out of college. That's where he excelled in the run game. So he had to improve his technique in the pass game. And per Pro Football Focus, to go back to that article, Nate Davis actually had a 68.2 pass blocking grade over the Titans' final six games. So he definitely turned that around despite that number not sounding fantastic

he definitely was able to improve and his improvement no coincidence had a lot to do with the Titans improving as an offense as well my favorite pick of this draft class low key though may be Amani Hooker at safety I loved what the Titans did with Amani Hooker making him the third safety in that rotation doing a diamond set where Rashawn Evans was able to slide down to the line of scrimmage Kenny Vaccaro was able to play some sub package linebacker and then Imani Hooker could be the deep safety for the Titans and that allowed them to use Kevin Byard a little bit closer to the line of scrimmage as well and make more plays there so I really love the way that Imani Hooker was used and it's something

that I highlighted quite a bit throughout the season in our Tic Tac Titan film breakdowns. So not only was Imani Hooker able to impress me with his role in the Titans defense, playing 84% of the special team snaps tells you all you need to know about how the Titans coaches feel about the impact he can make on that side of the field. Fifth overall pick I guess I gotta give a grade the Imani hooker pick is a B the Nate Davis pick is a B minus I'm not certain if I if I shouted that out during his little part of the segment as well but yeah that's how I see it Imani hooker is a solid B right now getting someone like Imani hooker who can have an impact in defense and on special teams in the fourth round where they did and trading up five slots to make sure that they got him kind of tells me all I need to

know like I said that is a b pick and then Nate Davis coming along slowly but eventually making that big impact you got to give that a b minus just because it took him a minute to get on the field the fifth round pick DeAndre Walker I got to give that an incomplete right now that's an na at this moment in time. He didn't play a single snap, didn't play a single down, wasn't able to contribute in any way. So I'll have more of a grade to give on DeAndre Walker this time next year. The final pick of the draft, the final grade that we are giving is David Long, the linebacker out of West Virginia.

Didn't make a huge impact on the Titans on defense early in the season, but the play he made that I mentioned already in the Chiefs game to force the fumble that turned the game around, and then being able to contribute in the Ravens game as well was really important, and I really like seeing David Long there. Hopefully, he's able to improve and make even more of an impact. Remember, although the Titans may have certified starters at the inside linebacker position, those starters are going to deal with injuries. Things happen throughout the NFL season, and the teams with the most depth and talent on their roster are usually the teams that make it to the end, which is why the Titans were one of the teams

that made it to the end, and David Long is a great example of that so I'm going to give the David Long pick a B plus that is a sixth round pick the lower you go in the draft the more I'm willing to give you a good grade for getting an impactful player we saw John Robinson's sixth and seventh round picks in his first three drafts and they were essentially useless so to be able to get David Long and have him actually make an impact and make a few critical plays for the Titans in the season, you've got to reward that with a B-plus grade. So just to recap, Simmons was an A-, A.J. Brown an A+, Nate Davis, B-, Amani Hooker, B, DeAndre Walker, incomplete,

and David Long, a B+. Overall, overall, I'm going to give this John Robinson class an A-. Their impact immediately was tremendous. The ability they have to get better and impact the team further in the future is also tremendous, tremendous upside there. And with everything in mind that I just said, that's an A- overall draft to me for John Robinson. Now, like I said, I got to mention that they did get some undrafted

free agents in the building with Isaiah Mack along the defensive line and Derek Roberson as an edge rusher. Give John Robinson a little bit of a boost for those as well that I baked into that grade. So an A minus. With that grade out of the way, we have now graded all of John Robinson's draft classes that have actually played on the field. So we are going to move forward to the next segment of our show. And I know I've been doing a what if for the end segment for the last three shows, but I don't have any what ifs for this draft class. John Robinson was excellent in this class and every pick that he had, as was mentioned in the pro football focus blurb, excelled their draft position.

So I'm not even going to give a what if. I think it would be disrespectful to how fantastic John Robinson's class is. But with that in mind, again, a lot in mind right now, I'm going to give you something else. I'm going to give you a little Roland's rant. I'm going to give you an update on Jadavion Clowney's contract situation and then go into a little bit of a Roland's rant about where he sits right now in free agency. So with the shortage of reasonable what ifs with the 2019 Titans draft class I felt

it would be best to give you guys a little bit of an update on Clowney Watch as we heard some pertinent information from NFL insider Adam Schefter on Wednesday. And after I give you guys the information, I'm going to go into just a little bit of a Roland's rant with some of the takes that I've seen about the Clowney situation so far. And what we heard from Schefter, we will start out with that. So Adam Schefter said on Wednesday that the Cleveland Browns have offered Clowney the most money, but if Clowney wanted to be in Cleveland, then he already would be.

So what that tells me is that you don't have to give him the richest contract to be able to get him in the door. I think Clowney is looking at a one-year deal, and it's probably best for him. Referencing Jameis Winston, Winston could have gotten more money on the market, but took a very low contract so that he could play for the Saints, which is a good situation that can maybe repair his image and get him back on his way to a big-time contract. And Clowney may be in a similar circumstance due to the lack of statistical production last year and some of the injuries that he's been dealing with.

So what he may do is avoid the highest dollar amount for the best situation. And in my personal opinion, the Titans would be that best situation with a great team that is a playoff contending roster, a coach that he's familiar with in Mike Vrabel that he had his most statistical success in the NFL under, and then of course the no state income taxes situation with being in Tennessee. I think all of that financially and on the football field makes more sense for Clowney. So hearing that news from Adam Schefter should make Titans fans optimistic. And I will get into my Rollins rant now. If you're one of those people out there saying,

the Titans should just move on, quit worrying about Clowney, who cares, we don't want him, well, you're crazy. He's an impactful player, for one. I mean, regardless of the ups and downs he's had statistically, there is evidence out there, analytically speaking, and on the game film, that he is still one of the most impactful defensive linemen in the NFL. And to outright oh we don't want him that's just ludicrous in my opinion and then two my second point here is it's not like the Titans are going to spend

that money on somebody else they're not re-signing Logan Ryan he already announced he's not coming back to Tennessee there's nobody out there on the market right now that's worth the kind of money that we're talking about giving to Clowney. So holding that money for him is not preventing the Titans from getting anybody else on their roster who's going to not be there if Clowney goes somewhere else. If the Titans just hold on to the money that they have and wait for Clowney and he decides to go elsewhere, there are still going to be valuable veteran players on the market that they can spend that cash on that will make an impact. Waiting on Clowney, holding that money until Clowney makes his decision is not having a negative impact on the Titans' 2020 season. So anybody who's out there saying, hey, we should just move on, wrap things up, who cares,

blah, blah, blah, don't even worry about it. That's nuts. You got to keep the door open this entire time for him because he's that impactful of a player. And not only that, but it will help the Titans brand to get a free agent signing like that, especially with how big of a deal it's going to be now that most of free agency is completely done, completely wiped away months ago. It's going to be the biggest story for at least one to two days, and getting that attention on the Titans in a positive way of, hey, they're such a contending team that they're able to bring in a guy like this. Mike Vrabel is such a good head coach and has such a good relationship with his players that they're able to bring in a guy like this. They're a contending team. Nashville's a good market. Tennessee, no state.

All of that attention that the Titans will get if it takes place is only a positive for their brand. So there's just no downside whatsoever, in my opinion, to waiting for Clowney. I do not think that holding that money is going to stop the Titans from signing any other impactful players in free agency right now. There's nobody out there that will even come close to having the impact that Clowney will. So sorry to rant to you guys for a moment, but I had to get that off my chest and I've been waiting to get that off my chest. So now that we got a little bit of Clowney information this week, I wanted to make sure that

I put that out there. Waiting for Clowney is not a bad thing, and we should not move on. Keep that door open, John Robinson, just in case he does pick the Titans. But that is going to do it for today's show. Tomorrow, I'll be coming at you with something incredibly fresh for our Friday show since we are out of draft classes to go over. But one thing I do know that I'll be doing on tomorrow's show is our Friday mailbag and no lie last week we had a lot to cover with the Jonu Smith interview here not Jonu Smith from Jeffrey Simmons and AJ Brown we heard from Titans players but I didn't have a ton of mailbag questions either so it made it an easy move to postpone the mailbag for one week but we are going to be back

with the mailbag this week, and I would like to have some good questions in there. I do have about four or five stacked up, ready to go, but hey, even more would only help out the show, and I want to hear from you guys. I want to know your questions. I want to be able to answer and interact with you guys on Twitter as well, so make sure that you send me those questions at TicTac-titans on Twitter. It can be football. It can be Titans. It can be any other sport, movies, music, food, pop culture, whatever you want to ask about.

I will be more than happy to answer as we continue to connect this community that we have here with the Locked on Titans podcast. Now that you are done with this episode of the Locked on Titans podcast, though, make sure you go check out the Locked On NFL Draft podcast. They're still breaking down elements of the NFL Draft, getting you ready for the 2021 NFL Draft. I'm an NFL Draft junkie myself, so never a bad time to dive into that content. Make sure you check it out.

Make sure you're subscribed to the Locked On Titans podcast as well for the rest of the content I'll be putting out in the off season. But that is going to do it for me. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.