By Chad Reuter, NFL Draft Analyst for NFL.com
Draft picks
Alabama OT JC Latham (No. 7 overall)
Texas DT T'Vondre Sweat (No. 38)
North Carolina LB Cedric Gray (No. 106)
Louisville DB Jarvis Brownlee Jr. (No. 146)
Tulane WR Jha'Quan Jackson (No. 182)
Miami LB James Williams (No. 242)
Michigan LB Jaylen Harrell (No. 252)
Day 1 grade: A
Day 2 grade: B+
Day 3 grade: B+
Analysis: With Joe Alt off the board, the Titans picked the other top 10-caliber tackle. Latham's a wall on the outside who will excel on either side of the line. The team needed a big body like Sweat on the defensive line and chose him even after Sweat's recent DWI arrest; GM Ran Carthon said he discussed the incident with Sweat, and that Sweat "accepted his responsibility." Tennessee will hope he can be dominant at the next level. The Titans' third-round pick was part of the package to move up for quarterback Will Levis last April.
Gray's recognition skills and quickness make him a fit in the middle of Tennessee's defense. Brownlee has the talent to step into the fray as a rookie and earn a starting job down the line. Jackson's quickness helps fill two needs: depth at receiver and as a returner. Harrell should have been picked much earlier as an edge rusher, a spot where the Titans needed depth.
9 comments
I know a lot of people wanted a WR earlier but when they signed Ridley the room was overcrowded. Jackson was the type we were missing(Phillips and him will compete for roster spot). I also think it speaks to the confidence cally has in developing Burks. Major holes were filled on the OL and DL and I can’t wait to see these guys on the field
See this is what I thought of our draft. It’s not sexy and flashy, but we filled the holes we had and needed to fill with it.
It’s fun to talk about grades now, but we really can’t give a grade on this draft until the end of next year at the earliest.
A- is way better than I expected.
Like others have said, there weren’t many “sexy” picks, but we got three Day 1 starters (Latham, Sweat, Gray) and got some solid depth options with upside (Brownlee, Harrell, Williams). This draft was solid but has huge upside if Latham and Sweat live up to their huge potential.
I really don’t understand why fans are so down on the sweat pick. Talent wise, that’s about the range he should have gone in. Titans were clearly in on him and did their due diligence on the character concerns. There was a run on DTs leading up to and right after he was picked. They had no 3rd rounder and no way he was going to be there at 106. This might be the least surprising pick of the whole draft lol
Seems the media is either all in or all out on the team. A lot of people dying on hills.
Kind of like Levis. Only opinions I’m hearing are that he’s got star potential or he’s literally JaMarcus Russell tier awful.
I really wanted a receiver but this was a really good draft for us. Vrabel also believed winning the trenches is key to winning in the nfl and now we still get to keep that mindset while still switching to a modern passing offense. We have to pray we don’t lose DHop or Ridley to injury but even if so, the change in scheme and improvement on OLine should at least make us competitive. Marcus won games with Corey Davis, Matthew’s and Tajae Sharpe. Anything is possible. And hey, now we likely get another off season where we can get hype for receiver prospects in the draft. No one will admit it but it’s low key fun getting hyped for receiver prospects 😂
Am I reading this correctly in that they gave us a B grade on day 3 because we didn’t draft Harrell sooner?
“Harrell should have been picked much earlier as an edge rusher, a spot where the Titans needed depth.”
Shouldn’t this boost our grade? Getting a guy who should have been taken earlier in the draft late?
Great draft!