I'll admit, I like mock drafts as much as the next guy, but let's change things up a little bit; let's have a mock don't-draft.
The concept is simple, in a mock draft you name a player you think the Titans will or should take, all you've got to do for the don't-draft is give a player you don't think the Titans should or will take. I'll start with Nick Perry.
It's not that I think Perry is necessarily a bad player, in fact, according to a formula called production ratio (which can be calculated by adding sacks and tackles for loss and dividing them by games played) he actually measures up better than Akeem Ayers did coming out of college (1.39 v.s. 1.18). Problem for Perry is that Ayers was a second round pick and isn't necessarily a bad player either, but this is the twentieth overall pick we're talking about. Now Perry does stack up better than Ayers is, so if we're just going by production ratio alone then he should be the better NFL player, but as we all know there are many more factors that play into a players' success at the next level and that special "it" factor just doesn't seem to be there right now for me.
While he did moderately well getting after the quarterback in college, you like to see bigger production coming out of a top 20 pick. Because I'm painfully aware of the Titans' problems getting to the quarterback last year, I feel like they should be targeting a great pass rusher, not one whose upside has been described as "could be solid getting to the quarterback." Basically, he's been described as Tamba Hali without all of the athleticism that makes him so good at beating offensive linemen.
Another player whose name seems to be building momentum around here is Mark Barron. In this case, I think Barron might actually be a good fit here. I think the value of a ball-hawking safety is only going to go up as the quarterbacks in the division get better (though pass rush might fix that pretty quickly) but seeing as the Titans have evidently made an effort to make some "preliminary contact" with Michael Griffin about a long-term deal, I don't think that they're looking to target a safety that early. Also consider that if a long-term deal isn't reached, Griffin is definitely a candidate for the franchise tag and has discussed a willingness to accept it. I would definitely look for #33 to be lined up as the starting free safety in 2012.
So MCM, got a player you hate (purely from an evaluation standpoint of course)? Let's hear about it.