Grading the 2009 Tennessee Titans Draft

There have been a lot of draft grades floating around the internet the last few days. We can all agree that it is beyond stupid to grade a draft right now. There is not any one person out there who knows how each player will be used by the team that drafted them- let alone if they will be a good player or not.

That is why a draft class should never be graded until those players have played a full three seasons in the NFL. Some people say five seasons, but that is too long in today's NFL. Players, especially those picked in the first three rounds, need to be able to make an impact on the field by their third year. That is important for the team to be good, but it is also important because after three years is when the front office will really start to evaluate if they are going to make a long term investment in that player.

Over the next couple of weeks we are going to look at how different teams drafted back in 2009. This is going to be somewhat of a rolling series through the summer that will be re-visited around this time each year. The plan is to start with the teams in the AFC South and go from there.

Click through the jump to see the grade for the Titans 2009 draft.

1st (30th overall)- Kenny Britt
2nd (62nd)- Sen'Derrick Marks
3rd (89th and 94th)- Jared Cook and Ryan Mouton
4th (130th and 135th)- Gerald McRath and Troy Kropog
5th (173rd)- Javon Ringer
6th (203 and 206th)- Jason McCourty and Dominique Edison
7th (239th and 242nd)- Ryan Durand and Nick Schommer

Grade: B+

This was one of the better drafts of the Jeff Fisher administration. Kenny Britt has had his off the field problems and health issues, but he has been extremely productive when he has been on the field. There is no way you can give that pick anything other than an A, and we haven't even seen the ceiling yet.

The Sen'Derrick Marks pick was pretty weak. That was a classic Fisher athleticism pick. All we heard about after he was picked was that he could dunk a basketball. It is hard to see how that helps him play tackle. He hasn't been terrible, but he also hasn't produced like a second round pick should. That pick gets a C-.

Jared Cook hasn't completely lived up to the hype, but he has gotten better each year. He is one really consistent season away from being one of the steals of this draft, but as was pointed out above, there needs to be some consistency in the third season. The pick still gets a B.

Ryan Mouton gets an INC because he missed a whole season. That is probably a better grade that he gets if he played in 2011, but it is impossible to know that for sure.

Once you get into the 4th round the barometer for success changes. Any player picked here is going to be a bit of a developmental guy.

Gerald McRath has been a decent depth guy. They obviously don't feel comfortable with him in a starting role, but he could help them out in a pinch. He gets a C. The same thing could really be said for Troy Kropog.

Javon Ringer was a solid 5th round pick. He is not a feature back that is going to light the NFL on fire, but he proved last year that he can be an effective runner. He gets a C+.

Jason McCourty was the best pick in this draft when you take into consideration where he was picked. He had a rough rookie campaign, but has come back to prove that he is an above average to really good corner in this league. He gets an A+.

The rest of the guys on the list did about what you would expect from 6th and 7th round picks. They hang around but ultimately end up fading away. C's all around.