2010 NFL Draft: Tennessee Titans Ridiculously Early Draft Grades
by Jimmy on Apr 26, 2010 10:02 AM CDT
in NFL Draft
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PrintI want to start this off by thanking August, Smash and Gramsey for the great work they did here this weekend covering the draft. I had a lot of stuff going on/home computer issues that kept me away for most of the weekend, and they stepped up and killed it.
Outside of the mind boggling trade that sent LenDale White and Kevin Vickerson to Seattle for a few spots in the draft (I will go into more detail on this in a post later today), I thought the Titans had a great draft.
My biggest criticism of the Mike Reinfeldt/Jeff Fisher regime has been the fact that they love to take guys that didn't produce in college because they have "upside." They have also had some type of weird love affair with guys from small schools, not that there is anything wrong with that, but a lot of times it takes those guys a little more time to get ready on the NFL level. This year they went big school, big production with their first four picks of the draft.
Derrick Morgan was the best defensive end in this draft, and the Titans have to be thrilled that he fell to #16. I think it is hilarious that a lot of the grades around the internet are downgrading the Titans because they got Morgan instead of Jason Pierre-Paul. I guarantee you in 4 years when it is not ridiculously early to grade this draft Morgan will be miles ahead of JPP.
I was heartbroken when Javier Arenas went before the Titans got back on the clock, but the more I read about Damian Williams the more I like him. He has all of the physical tools and returned punts in college. Two for the price of one right there. Hopefully Fisher and Mike Heimerdinger will give him a shot at seeing the field early.
Rennie Curran seems to be cut from the same mold as Tulloch. He can play all three linebacker spots and was a tackling machine in college. Suddenly the Titans have some depth at the linebacker position.
The LenDale trade brought the Titans UCLA corner Alterraun Verner (A guy Vols fans are familiar with). He had 13 career interceptions and is really smart.
Intelligence became a theme of this draft with the selections of Myron Rolle and David Howard from Brown. We may not win the Super Bowl, but we can take anyone in the NFL in the Super Quiz Bowl.
The biggest question for me was taking Rusty Smith with some of the "bigger name" guys still on the board.
Overall I am thrilled by this draft class. I give it a B with the understanding that giving it any grade right now is silly. We filled needs with high production guys, and keep an eye on LeGarrette Blount. He would have had a very high draft grade without the punching incident. He will push Javon Ringer for #2.
What do you think? Vote in the poll and post your reasons below.
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I don't understand how anyone could give it less than an A
There is not a position of need we did not go for, and we didn’t trade up to take a player who should have not gone for another 2 rounds like the Bedazzlers.
All around great draft for the Titans.
Official MCM Hater!
Adrian Peterson just fumbled again.
I want to see the production out of Curran and Verner before committing to an A.
Did we address the needs? Yes.
But at this point, we have a potentially great TE who was injured last year along with a couple of serviceable TEs on the roster. Meanwhile, we have substantial questions at LB and CB. A 3rd and a 4th round pick do not necessarily address the need for actual STARTERS opposite Tulloch and Finnegan. And even Tulloch is a huge downgrade vs. what Bulluck was before he got injured. So it’s not as though the answer to Bulluck’s injury is present anywhere here.
DannoE
"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."
Storyteller's Playbook
Charter Member of the Music City Miracles Hall Of Fame
Well, obviously we might change the grade in 3 years
But, today, Monday April 26th, I see nothing that could convince me to downgrade the draft from an A.
I mean, we are not gonna trade up to have 3 1st round picks to get “definite starters” at all 3 positions, so with that line of thinking no draft would ever get an A.
Official MCM Hater!
Adrian Peterson just fumbled again.
I guess I'm grading J. Cook's performance as part of this year's draft.
So, bottom line, he needs to prove worthy of that 2nd round pick. Cause we could have gotten a starter at LB at that spot.
DannoE
"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."
Storyteller's Playbook
Charter Member of the Music City Miracles Hall Of Fame
That never even crossed my mind
I got you on that one.
Official MCM Hater!
Adrian Peterson just fumbled again.
EDIT.
I forgot about the Witherspoon signing when I wrote the above, so maybe LB isn’t a pressing need for an actual starter, but although I would tend to agree with those who think DE was the biggest position of need, the fact is that I’m still highly nervous about the state of the Linebacking corps.
On the other hand, if the D-Line works as planned, I tend to think we could get by in the Secondary, assuming M. Griffin gets his head out of his ass and starts playing again next year like we all know he’s capable of playing.
DannoE
"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."
Storyteller's Playbook
Charter Member of the Music City Miracles Hall Of Fame
If Jason Jones can stay healthy
And Morgan is even half as good as he should be, our secondary will be much better.
Official MCM Hater!
Adrian Peterson just fumbled again.
That first one is a big IF.
On the other hand, the Jags just cut Big John Henderson, who I would take in a red-hot second. Good Lord, i have NO IDEA what those clowns are thinking, but Big John would look freakin’ GREAT in two-toned blue on a two-year deal.
DannoE
"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."
Storyteller's Playbook
Charter Member of the Music City Miracles Hall Of Fame
by DannoE on Apr 26, 2010 10:36 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
I don't think retroactive draft grades are always legitimate
For sure, if a player doesn’t work out or a surprise player does well, teams should look back and see if they missed anything and how they can improve how they draft. But the mere fact that Player X busts or does well should not necessarily change draft grades. That is the EASY thing to do. What’s hard is making reasonable projections based on present information, and that’s how teams should be evaluated, even if other factors kick in and possibly make a player a “bust.”
In other words, if Darius Heyward-Bey becomes a superstar in the future, I wouldn’t go back and say the Raiders were smart for taking him so high. That would still be a dumb pick; they would be lucky if that happened. There are a ton of factors involved on how a player pans out, and the ones available for draft evaluation are only part of the equation.
by TheElusiveShadow on Apr 26, 2010 12:26 PM CDT up reply actions
B
Also, I hope you’re right about JPP. He is a better athlete than Morgan, but Morgan has been more productive to date.
I liked the Rolle and Mariani picks.
If you go to Youtube and watch Mariani’s highlights (albeit against brutal coverage) you can see he is a gamer.
JPP is NOT a better athlete.
All of his measurables were LOWER than Morgan’s. Hence the grade most scouts gave on Morgan vs. JPP.
DannoE
"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."
Storyteller's Playbook
Charter Member of the Music City Miracles Hall Of Fame
A
I vote A.
We did not reach for anyone and it seems like we got some steals also.. Morgan, Williams, Rolle, to name a few. This class is full of playmakers lets hope they stick.
I'm Happy
We got three USC players even though two came from undrafted. I like Rennie Curran a lot too after checking out some of the Youtube videos he seems to always be around the ball and packs a lot of power for his frame.
Taylor Mays > Eric Berry
I had to give it a B and here's why
The first two days of the draft look pretty solid but day 3 had me scratching my head at times.
First we draft Rusty Smith while there were better names still left and we traded away Lendale and Vickerson to move up a very few spots in the draft. I just don’t see how we don’t come out with at least an extra draft pick in moving Lendale.
I gave it a B as well..
And for pretty much the same reasons. I think losing Vickerson could be pretty big this season. Especially if they don’t bring anyone in to take his place, and Jones has trouble staying healthy.
trading lendale and vickerson to move up for ucla corner and qb out of fau was bad move, they should atleast have drafted a running back like Johnathan Dwyer or Dixon from miss state. Also trading a 6’ 5" 305 pound defensive tackle, while drafting a dt who is smaller (6’ 3" 270lb) than derrick morgan from an ivy league school seems ridiculous as well.
Continuing to spend draft picks on players from jeff fishers son school is annoying as well.
Although with the Blount signing drafting a RB earlier seems unnecessary now, but at the time did not.
I was really glad titans got Myron, as well as, Lagaratte he’s a large back 6’ 1" 238 pounds so he kind of replaces lendale but is even faster. He also has no room for error
"Continuing to spend draft picks on players from jeff fishers son school is annoying as well"
Because we draft Montana players every year?
We all know why you don’t like that pick…
Official MCM Hater!
Adrian Peterson just fumbled again.
I dont know if they draft players from there every year, but I know they arent drafting players from any other small random schools with any frequency
by CarlosLehder on Apr 26, 2010 12:07 PM CDT up reply actions
And freakin' Rusty Smith!
And half of the draft from last year. Hell, even Steve McNair came from a notoriously small school.
DannoE
"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."
Storyteller's Playbook
Charter Member of the Music City Miracles Hall Of Fame
I didnt say they never draft players from small schools, I said they don’t draft players from small schools with the same frequency as they have these past few drafts with Montana.
by CarlosLehder on Apr 26, 2010 1:23 PM CDT up reply actions
Mariani is the first player we have drafted from Montana
Official MCM Hater!
Adrian Peterson just fumbled again.
i thought the titans drafted tuff harris, thanks for looking that up
by CarlosLehder on Apr 26, 2010 1:27 PM CDT up reply actions
Howard at like 290
Supposedly Howard is at like 290 now according to his conf. call.
by dailyminefield on Apr 26, 2010 11:51 AM CDT up reply actions
Who is everyone's favorite pick
I love the Rennie Curran pick. Anyone that’s watched SEC Football knows this guy can play and play fast with power. Read his comments on Titansonline.com. Kid is ready to play.
Also, like David Howard from Brown. Great pick as a 7th round flyer.
by dailyminefield on Apr 26, 2010 11:48 AM CDT reply actions
Yea i like Curran aswell
I seen him play in a couple games he is a headhunter, all over the field. Seems he is on every tackle. Great pick for the titans, i can see this guy turning out to be something special for many years.
by JohnnyTitan on Apr 26, 2010 11:52 AM CDT up reply actions
fave pick
Damian Williams for me, didn’t really think we would take a receiver. Glad we did.
Kinda want to say Myron Rolle since I’m an FSU fan, but I still like the Williams pick better.
Don't HAIT. Save the HATTEN for the HAITTERS!
Other than Morgan
I think Williams is my favorite pick.
At first I was surprised because WR wasn’t a position of need, relative to CB or LB, but the more I think about it the more I like the idea of adding more potency to our up-and-coming offense.
Plus if he finds a way to keep Hands Washington off the field, I will be thrilled.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nun5FZTZqis
LaGarrette Blount
and we didn’t even have to waste a draft pick! i think this kid has a chip on his shoulder and is going to come into camp hungry.
by vancouverTITAN on Apr 26, 2010 12:49 PM CDT up reply actions
hungry fo pain!!!!!
REAL SOVIET DAMAGE!!!
by SouthTexasTitan on Apr 26, 2010 12:54 PM CDT up reply actions
Does anyone know?
Can Damian Williams return kickoffs as well? If not, what are the options? Britt – I hope not.
Official proponent of the unofficial campaign to nickname Derrick Morgan "Captain Morgan."
yea when britt dislocated his fingers i was crapping on myself
REAL SOVIET DAMAGE!!!
by SouthTexasTitan on Apr 26, 2010 12:55 PM CDT up reply actions
alright guys im in programming and i never pay attention so lets talk some football
People im looking forward to are morgan, williams, verner, blount and (rolle for his smarts and commitment)…….. any jared cooks in the bunch (a lot of hype but a relatively disappointing season) be it injury prone or some red flags (blount is obvious)
REAL SOVIET DAMAGE!!!
by SouthTexasTitan on Apr 26, 2010 1:00 PM CDT reply actions
Re: Verner
This may have been posted during the draft, but, even if it was, it deserves to be put up again.
From NFL Draft Scout:
With the opposition finally recognizing his playmaking ability, opportunities were less frequent in 2009 — and yet Verner did more with his opportunities as a senior than he had previously — intercepting five of the nine passes he defensed on the year (returning two for touchdowns). For his exploits, Verner earned first-team All-Pac-10 honors and was invited to the East-West Shrine Game.
Shutdown corner.
I’m really sinking my teeth into the college careeres of these draft picks today. I’m giddy with excitement.
Giddy, dude? Really?
Be careful…tommy is gonna think you’re gay :-)….I gave our draft a B. I wanted Crexdon Butler…but that’s cool…Like Mick Jagger said, “you can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you’ll get what you need”. And I definitely think we filled some needs with this draft….so yeah, I don’t know about “giddy”…but I’m liking it. And to get Myron Rolle that far down …..that’s just silly-stupid. This kid’s gonna be a stud…come to think of it, maybe like another Rolle we used to have on our team.
by titansfan4ever on Apr 26, 2010 2:53 PM CDT up reply actions
B
because none of these guys will make our no-blitz defence work the way haynesworth can. i love the guys we got, but would give up any for haynesworth. that and lendale and vicerson shouldve got us more than 16 draft slots.
so draft a, but trades f. so B
jimmy, youre famous
Word.
Titans Blogger at Music City Miracles even though gramsey hates it.
"What if I was Peyton Manning?"- CJ to the ref after they picked up a personal foul flag for a late hit on him.
So, here is some trivia
Since Tuna decided to take a shot at Vol fans
Of the defensive backs that the Titans drafted, which team did they intercept more in college?
Tennessee or Alabama.
Place your bets….
Official MCM Hater!
Adrian Peterson just fumbled again.
Myron Rolle
Are we going to call him Dr. Rolle? Doc?
I mean if we are nicknaming Captain Morgan already.. let’s keep it going…
Don't HAIT. Save the HATTEN for the HAITTERS!
lets not force it
Cap’n just kinda happened
REAL SOVIET DAMAGE!!!
by SouthTexasTitan on Apr 26, 2010 3:28 PM CDT up reply actions
i give it a d just cus some dumbass gave our second round pick away for nothing as of yet.
as far as the players we got i give it a A . i really like the video of the punch in the face its almost as good as the albert stomping.
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