Our Draft So Far

I'll admit, I was not happy with two of our three picks so far. But, since I admit that I am far from an expert scout, and have far less info available to me than the Titans do, that there is a pretty good chance they know more than I do. So I've gone back, watched more, thought about it... here's what I think.

Wright- Upon further reflection, loving this pick. We needed a WR. The only game changers on our offense are coming off of injury (Britt) and sucking (CJ).

Now... worst case, if those two have bad years next year, well, at least we have another option with Cook and Wash.

Best case... wow. If the running game returns to a strength, and Britt recovers well, this offense could be among the league's best. A lot of that, of course, depends on Locker. But we've now given him every opportunity to succeed.

Wright, in particular, is a perfect compliment to what we have. Now I generally prefer a big receiver, but we have that in Britt. Now, we have a true deep threat. This kid will be a lethal slot guy, as his change of direction is amazing. He has good concentration and catches the ball well.

A four man pattern of Wash, Wright, Cook, Britt with CJ coming out of the backfield is gonna be pretty sick.

When I watch Wright, I see Steve Smith. Very similar games IMHO.

Zach Brown- This guy is raw, true enough. But he has elite talent. He apparently has had bad coaching at UNC, as both he and Coples have poor fundamentals.

However, the kid, from what I read, has expressed a desire to improve, and is a jaw dropping athlete. I figure worst case, he is a great special teamer, and a third down blitzer/cover guy.

Best case scenario, this guy is a linebacker the likes of which we've never had. The guy runs a 4.4! Good luck turning the corner on that! And with the Grahams, Gronks, Davis, and Hernandez of the world, you need a linebacker that can cover well. AS a plus, it appears the Colts are attempting to build a TE centered offense, so he should help there.

The guy carries risk, but the upside is HUGE. Can't fault the FO taking a swing on that.

Mike Martin- I love this guy. Big, strong, mean, what's not to like? Will be a great run stopper, and from what I saw, is a better pass rusher than the experts say.

He and Casey, with Klug coming in to rush from time to time, should be very good. Bye Bye Question Marks.

__________

So all in all, I'm happy. Our team is better tonight than it was 36 hours ago. Now we need a center, and anything else is gravy.

Kendall Wright
GRADE: B+
There was other talent on the board (DeCastro, Mercilus, and Perry) but we opted for a offensive playmaker. Kendall Wright has "Steve Smith/Santonio Holmes" type of receiver in him. Perfect #2 for a healthy Britt, solid slot if Nate keeps it going. Also offers return abilities. I like the pick, and I think he'll be a great pro. Britt, Washington, Wright, Williams, Hawk, Cook is a solid combo of targets for Hass or Locker, even better is Britt and Wright will be together for Locker for years.

Zach Brown
GRADE: C-
This is my least favorite pick. We have holes at DE, DT, and C - could use starters in all position. Yet, we draft Zach Brown... a guy who probably won't even start or see significant playing time Year 1. I'm also not a huge fan of Zach Brown. Yes, he's fast... but dude hits like Michael Griffin. Devon Still, Vinny Curry, and Peter Konz were all available. I would of went Vinny Curry. Hopefully Zach can atleast cover TEs for us, and learn how to tackle. I wonder if Ayers will see some additional time at DE?

Mike Martin
Grade: A+
FINALLY, we address the DL. Mike Martin was an early 2nd rounder in my books. Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) had him as the #1 DT in this years class. Miller is one of the up and coming 'experts'. Martin and Casey are the perfect duo. He's got a crazy motor, good size, and loves to stop the run.

Bottom line: I'm iffy with Brown, would of liked Curry. But hey, atleast we didn't take a punter.

Good, positive analysis. We need more of that, especially on Brown. I'll just add that I have a special feeling that we might have done something no one realizes. It may not materialize, but, we have heard the hybrid talk. Also, we have spent 3 picks avoiding the DE position.

I thought we rightfully needed to add another big butt to stuff the run who could rush a little bit. But maybe the quicker end types we have been wanting will be through Ayers and eventually Brown rushing situationally.

Over the years, our scheme, as dominant as it has been, under Fisher, at certain times, never seemed to adept all that well when it counted. Maybe Gray can fulfill that promise of doing the unexpected to confuse the QB. The surprise logical positions the Titans have not historically used are the OLBs.

So to me, they must have passed on a variety of other LBs such as Lavonte David and Ronnell Lewis for some other reasons aside from being complete idjuts. Other teams passed on these guys more than once for their own reasons as well.

Wimbley
Morgan
Douzable
Ball
Klug?
Ayers?

All above will likely see time at DE, is it really that big of a need? Yes... I would of loved Vinny Curry, but he provides zero run support. Titans aren't a fan of "blitz-only" DEs. It wouldn't surprise me to see some hybrid looks.

Great assessment Wrath, feel the exact same way.

Wright: I'm loving this pick the more I ponder the decision. I think he is the best pure "play maker" in the entire draft. The dude is just special with the ball in his hands and he almost has like a sixth sense when in space and running routes. It's almost as if he knows where all the defenders are without looking, it's weird. Britt, Wash, Cook and Wright holy shinkes!!!! I think we are seeing the gradual changing of our offense to reflect rule changes, which benefit passing. I think the days of pounding CJ up the between the tackles 30 times a game are finally over and that's a great thing.

Brown: Obviously he F.O. saw the need to have a super fast LB who can cover TE's and RB's as a huge area of concern. Although I saw us going a different route in the 2nd, I totally get this pick. With the way the league is changing with the usage of TE's, Brown will have a huge impact for us. We've all seen TE's just tear us up from Clark to Gates, Brown should remedy that.

Martin: Not much else to say, love this pick. The guy is almost an exact clone of Casey and that's a good thing as we've all seen. Watching his combine highlights, I couldn't believe the guy is 306 pounds, he moves so quickly and fluidly, almost the way a guy 225 does. I love his heart, I love his wrestling back round, love his game. Move over Klug I may have a new man crush.

This post is filled with estrogenal win!.

If I had to grade our draft so far Id go:

Kendall Wright (B+) -- I wasn't expecting a WR here but Wright is a great talent. Not a really deep threat like Washington and Britt are but he is a great slot guy that has amazing catch and run abilities. Should be a great addition to the team and an instant upgrade over Williams and Hawkins.

Zach Brown (B-) -- I'm not to crazy about this pick but I can't give it less then a B- due to Brown dizzying upside. He is not a hard hitter and he lacks aggressiveness when trying to shed blocks but he is really good in coverage and improved on his tackling his senior year (you don't make 100+ tackles being allergic to contact).

Mike Martin (A+) -- I liked Martin more then I liked Poe and Worthy. He was the 4th DT on my board after Cox, Still, Bockers, and Thompson so this is a great pick IMO. An instant starter for us he will provide a solid wall with Casey on the first two downs and most likely rotate with Klug on 3rd down pass rushing situations.

For the rest of the draft I think we should hit on a CB, C, DE, and S so I'm going to hope for:

Round 4: Cam Johnson, DE, UVA
Round 5: David Molk, OC, Michigan
Round 6: Omar Bolden, CB, Arizona St.
Round 7: Winston Guy, S, Kentucky

In today's game the trick is to outscore your opponent not shut them down - I'm all for the wright pick. We have a legitimate offense with this WR corps and CJ in the backfield. Look at the Patriots - their D blows but they make it to superbowls.

Love Wright and Martin.

Don't like Brown. He's a reach, and we skipped on quality players at need positions to take a linebacker that doesn't tackle well.

Although to be honest, if we'd have taken Martin #2 and Brown #3, my feelings would be completely different on Brown.