Mike Reindfeldt and His Failed Draft Choices

So there is a lot of speculation swirling around as to why Mike Reindfeldt was fired. A lot of people on the radio and on the internet are saying it's because he wasn't all-in on trying to get Peyton Manning signed, and he slowed down the process. Ultimately making Peyton sign with the now number 1 seeded Broncos. I tend to think that is a fair statement as to why he was shown the door, but there is also more of reason than the failed Peyton signing.

Reindfeldt was the Titans GM from 2007-2010 and then relieving his duties to now Titans GM Ruston Webster. He became the Titans executive vice president and COO after relieving his GM duties. During that time as GM he swung and missed on most of his picks and didn't really make any splash in free agency.

From his 2007-2010 reign as GM he drafted 3 all-pro players out of 37 picks, those three being S Michael Griffin, RB Chris Johnson and PR/KR Marc Mariani. Now I know being a Tennessee Titan it is hard to make the pro-bowl. Unless they make the playoffs, and even sometimes when you they do, they don't make the pro-bowl regularly like someone from Pittsburgh or New England. Still not many of his picks have panned out which have caused a lack of talent on the team as a whole.

He did hit a home-run with the CJ2K pick and Griffin has been quite good through years. His late picks, which usually are a stable of picking hidden gems, haven't really been that good. He did find both our starting corners in Jason McCourty and Alterraun Verner, but beside that the rest of his late picks are very inconsistent. Guard Leroy Harris did show signs of being a breakout lineman, but has been extremely inconsistent since becoming a full-fledged starter. He picked Lavelle Hawkins in the fourth, but Lavelle is at best the 5th wideout. Marc Mariani became an all-pro his rookie year as a return specialist, but before his injury he was starting to fizzle out and didn't become a real weapon for the team. His return to the team this coming year looks bleak with Darius Reynaud turning into an even more dangerous return man.

His first draft in 2007, out of the 10 picks that were made, only three players are left on the roster. Michael Griffin is a starter and Leroy Harris is as well. Harris could be on the chopping block this offseason with the emergence of Velasco. The other player is Mike Otto and if it wasn't for an injured O-line he would probably be on the practice squad or off the team.

His 2008 draft is a one man draft with the pick of CJ2K, but the rest of the class hasn't really made a splash. Jason Jones split for Seattle and Craig Stevens has been a good blocking TE, but not a vertical threat.

His 2009 draft may be his strongest, but the top of the class is still very inconsistent. WR Kenny Britt has shown flashes of being one of the best WR in the game, but since his horrendous injury from last year he looks to have lost a step. TE Jared Cook has also shown flashes of brilliance, but is extremely inconsistency and has turned disgruntled. DT Sen'Derrick Marks is coming off his best year, but he could be the odd man out this offseason with the three other DT being younger and more talented. With a lot of draft experts showing the Titans going after another DT Marks' days could be numbered.

His 2010 draft, which was his last draft as GM, is the most disappointing out of the bunch. Derrick Morgan is starting to live up to his 1st round potential, but it has taken him 3 years to do so. S Robert Johnson was a starter until he was put on IR. Other than Verner the rest of that draft class has turned out to be rather disappointing or injured.

His free-agency pick ups are another story, for another time, but once again he didn't really make a big splash.

Since Ruston Webster took over as GM he has left a far better impression with his picks than Reindfeldt, at least in my eyes. Kendall Wright looked really sharp this year. His linebacker picks have been quite good. Zach Brown, Akeem Ayers and Colin McCarthy (even though injured) have all looked very impressive. DT Jurrell Casey could eventually be all-pro if he keeps getting better, which he has. Mike Martin and Karl Klug have both been great in the rotation at DT. As of right now Jake Locker has been inconsistent, but I consider his evaluation to be incomplete due to injury and not starting a whole season. Hybrid TE Taylor Thompson looked decent considering he played DE all through college. RB Jamie Harper has made some strides as short yardage/goal-line back.

If people wanna have an answer as to why Reindfeldt was fired, you can look at his executive decisions as a factor to his downfall, but look no further than his draft picks.