While reading tonight's edition of Between the Posts, I saw a comment (h/t Father of Zeus) that contained a link to an article praising the Titans and their selection of Zach Brown, calling him a steal in the second round. Brown joined a group of highly drafted defensive UNC players that seem to have sprung up over the past few years a couple of weeks ago as the Titans made him the fifty-second overall pick. The pick caused mostly mixed reactions. Doubters see an inconsistent tackler who doesn't always utilize great technique and some red flags with his character. Supporters see the second coming of Navarro Bowman: a raw, but still productive, incredibly athletic player who slipped in the draft because of reported attitude issues. I see something closer to the latter.

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Mel Kiper has been doing a series highlighting the biggest impact players on offense and defense from the different rounds of the 2012 NFL draft (In$ider). Just like Todd McShay, Kiper points to Mike Martin as a big impact player for the Tennessee Titans. Here is what he had to say:

This is a bit of a leap, but last year Karl Klug managed to come in as a fifth-rounder and make an impact in Tennessee, and I think the coaches will find it hard to keep Martin off the field. He plays with great leverage, takes on double-teams well and will beat single coverage. Suddenly, with Klug, Jurrell Casey and Martin, the Titans have a formidable young rotation at defensive tackle.

That last sentence is the key. The Titans now have three young players at defensive tackle that are really good. We already know that Casey and Klug fall into the "playmaker" category, and that is what it is all about in today's NFL. Here's to hoping Martin can join them there early in 2012.

Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Jerry Gray joined the 1st Quarter on 102.5 The Game this morning, and he had some interesting things to say about Zach Brown. From the top of the interview, it really sounded like he is planning on Brown being the weakside linebacker from jump. It sounds like Will Witherspoon will have an uphill battle in training camp.

He also talked a lot about the plays Brown can make in space. It is obvious that one of the biggest reasons they drafted him is because of the advantage he gives them from a match-up standpoint. Gray talked a lot about the "chess match" that is an NFL football game. He pointed to the fact that they can stay in their base defense more with Brown out there because he can cover a running back or a tight end down the field.

Gray also mentioned that having Brown out there will free Akeem Ayers up to get after the quarterback more. We will probably see Ayers used a lot differently this year than we did last. When they drafted him, they talked a lot about the multiple things he could do for the defense. Then the season rolled around and he just played linebacker. That is probably due to him not having much time with the coaching staff because of the lockout.

While the Titans didn't spend a high pick on a pass rushing defensive end, it sounds like they did address the pass rush by adding guys like Brown and Mike Martin because they will allow Gray to do different things with the players he already has.

Click here to listen to the whole interview with Jerry Gray

It is pretty safe to say that the selection of Taylor Thompson was the biggest surprise of the draft. Sure, the Zach Brown pick was a little bit surprising, but at least he will be playing the same position in the NFL that he played in college. That is not the case for Thompson.

After doing a little bit of research, it is easy to see why the Titans chose Thompson. Here is what Titans OC Chris Palmer told John Glennon about Thompson as a tight end prospect:

"I’d say his growth will have to come in the technique of blocking, but as far as being a receiving tight end, I think he’s uncanny," offensive coordinator Chris Palmer said. "He’s got outstanding speed. He’s got outstanding size and hands."

Now of course you would not expect Palmer to say anything bad about him at this point, but he is not the only one that sees some special skills in Thompson. Here is what Gil Brandt had to say about him after the SMU Pro Day:

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Todd McShay has a post up this morning looking at the picks from each team that will make the biggest impact and the pick that is the most intriguing (In$ider). He calls Mike Martin the Titans pick that is likely to have the biggest impact. That is interesting because I am pretty sure that Jurrell Casey was the player he selected last season.

Click through the jump to see why Martin will have the biggest impact, and who he selected as the most intriguing.

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SB Nation has launched a YouTube channel, and some of the stuff on there is pretty good. The video you see above is their roundtable grading the drafts in the AFC South. Everybody's favorite blogger, BigBlueShoe, is a part of said roundtable, so that gives you something to look forward too.

I agree with pretty much everything that Michael Bean had to say about about what the Tennessee Titans did. This draft scares me on a lot of fronts because the word "upside" was thrown around a lot. That is not a bad thing if all of those players reach their potential, but the odds are that more won't than will.

As an aside, Gramsey did an excellent "Meet your newest Titan" post Friday about Kendall Wright. He is not going to have time to do one of those on every pick, so if you would like to write one shoot me an email. I will probably just have your write it as a fanpost and I will promote it to the front page.

Matt Crossman of the Sporting News has a great story about Coty Sensabaugh and his draft day experience. After reading that story it will be impossible for you not to root for him. He is another example of the front office taking an experienced, smart player.

Sensabaugh lost his brother when he was 11 years old. That part of the story is heartbreaking. His brother found out he had Leukemia and died from it within the same week. Coty plans on starting a foundation in his brother's name to raise awareness about the disease.

The part of the story that made me laugh was when they were talking about another one of his older brothers calling around Kingsport, TN looking for Titans shirts. It sounds like he bought them all.

Like I said, it will be impossible not to root for this kid after reading that story. Make sure you click on that link and read the whole story.

Everyone's favorite draft analyst, Mel Kiper, has release his draft grades (In$ider). He broke them out into grades based on needs and based on value to get an overall grade. I would argue that Kiper doesn't have a clue about team needs, but that is for another day.

He gave the Titans a C on needs and a B- on value for an overall C+. Here is what he had to say:

Tennessee goes into 2012 with a vastly improved group of wide receivers. I didn't see this as a top need, but with Kenny Britt back, the addition of Kendall Wright means Jake Locker has the necessary weapons to succeed if he starts the season. If you know you have the weapons, you can better assess if you truly have your franchise quarterback. I can see the strategy. Wright was no steal, however. I thought it was possible he could fall to Round 2. Zach Brown is an athlete, but he's not physical at all. He's better chasing down plays from the weak side than he will be taking on blocks. Taylor Thompson will be a fun one to watch as he converts to tight end. He caught passes there in high school, so it won't be a foreign concept. Coty Sensabaugh has a chance to stick, but I expected earlier urgency for a cornerback. Markelle Martin might be the best value pick for Tennessee at No. 190.