Kiper: Defensive Line and Quarterback Deepest Positions in Draft

by Jimmy on Mar 31, 2011 12:00 PM CDT in NFL Draft

When you step back and look at it the news in this offseason has been nothing but terrible for the Titans. They face a roster with no quarterback besides Rusty Smith who was historically bad against a historically bad defense in his one start. In most offseasons the Titans would have signed a veteran QB by this point who would already be working with Chris Palmer. Speaking of Palmer, the Titans also have a brand new coaching staff that can't work with it's players because of the lockout.

But here is a sliver of good news- the Titans have a needs on the defensive line and at quarterback, and Mel Kiper said in his chat yesterday that those are the deepest positions in this draft:

Q: Deepest position in this year's draft?
A: DL overall. There are a lot of good DL in this draft. The DL without question is the deepest position. And I also think the QB position is pretty deep. It's the craziest group of QBs that I've evaluated this year. Newton came out of nowhere. Luck decided to go back when he would have been the No. 1 pick. The former No. 1 pick in Jake Locker, his stock fell dramatically. Ryan Mallet's stock fell from where it was. Dalton rises up. Then there's mixed opinion on the guys after that. McElroy. Kaepernick. Gabbert emerges as a guy that could go top 5. Weird year, but interesting year at QB.

This team can be back on the right track pretty quickly if Mike Reinfeldt can have another draft like last the one he pulled off last year.

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This team has a lot of good young talent

I think it was misused last year but there’s a lot to be hopeful for (KB, CJ, Cook, Stevens, Williams, Mariani on the offensive side and Verner, McCourty, Morgan on defensive side).

I think this draft is set up nicely for the Titans in that we should be able to find either a stud DL at #8 (Fairley, Dareus, Bowers, etc) and QB in the 2nd at #8 or find future franchise QB at #8 and a quality DL in the 2nd (Austin, Wilkerson, etc).

Then, that leaves 3rd round on to focus on LB, C/G, S/CB, big RB, etc.

I expect Reinfeldt to pull off his magic again.

by shawneriksmith on Mar 31, 2011 12:26 PM CDT reply actions

I cannot wait to see what Jerry Gray can do with these corners.

I’m impressed with our young DB unit, and he’s got a great track record as a DB coach, one of the best in the NFL. My hope is that he can get 2 or 3 of our corners into solid man coverage guys, and we can then follow the NY Jets model…bringing blitzes from all different directions and looks, while feeling comfortable leaving your corners on an island.

by SuperHorn on Mar 31, 2011 12:47 PM CDT up reply actions

I want to see what he can do with the safeties.

We know Griffin has the talent, but if Gray can get him consistent again and get him to play at an elite level, that could do wonders for the backfield. And hopefully he’ll be able to take a young guy currently on the roster or maybe even a draft pick and turn them into a viable replacement for Hope.

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by ronburgundy7427 on Mar 31, 2011 1:08 PM CDT up reply actions

Ok Mel, I'll spot you that DL is deep

But saying that this is a deep QB draft is pretty misleading. To me, the word ‘depth’ would imply that there is a higher-than-usual abundance of talent at that position, that is, because of the high number of other talented players at his position, a player might go in the second or third round this year, yet would likely be a first rounder most other years.

Isn’t this year the exact opposite? Yes, there are a bunch of guys who aren’t easily separated into higher and lower tiers, but that doesn’t mean that they’re all good. In fact, they all seem kind of mediocre to this point.

Go Titans! Go Magic!

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by madhjsp on Mar 31, 2011 1:10 PM CDT reply actions