Supersize Me!: Why the Titans should draft Margus Hunt in round two

The Titans own the 41st draft pick in the 2013 NFL Draft (I know it is really number 40, but technically) and in my opinion they will address the need for a new offensive lineman in round one. Assuming that, the question becomes who do the Titans draft next?

The Titans have five areas of need in this draft: RG, DE depth, S, LB depth, WR depth in that order. In a class that is deep at safety and wide receiver, my guess is they will wait for guys in round three like D.J. Swearinger or Da'rick Rogers that are talented but have some concerns. That leaves just DE and LB as true needs.

The Titans found current starter and defensive spark plug, Colin McCarthy in round four and have shown an affinity for adding great supporting cast later in the draft. So I am going to say a linebacker like Kiko Alonso, Khaseem Greene, or Gerald Hodges is available in round four, and that the Titans will wait until then to grab someone to solve their depth issue.

At defensive end the Titans will have several choices available with the 41st pick. The Titans have the player that Okafor hopes to be, which is Derrick Morgan and they have a speed player like Brandon Jenkins in Kamerion Wimbley. What they don't have is a physical freak like Margus Hunt.

The Estonia native stands at an NFL Combine tested 6'8", 277 lb. he has nearly 34" arms and 10" hands. If the Titans choose to beef him up, he has the frame to easily support 300 lb. and retain his athleticism. To top it all off, he has blocked an NCAA record 17 kicks in his career in college.

That is a lot of raw data on Hunt, but it doesn't really tell you anything about him as a player. There are a ton of big guys in the draft, and you could ask, "Why him"? Well this is my take.

• Hunt has an elite frame and has had record production as a special teams star. That make his floor as a prospect very high.
• He has only been playing football since 2009, which indicates that an NFL coach could really polish him up.
• He fits what we look for in a defensive lineman if Sammie Lee Hill (6'4") and Ropati Pitoitua (6'8") are any indication.
  

Please read carefully: The Titans could use him a lot like the Texans use J.J. Watt. As a base DE that can kick inside and disrupt passes over the middle with the affinity he has shown for knocking down balls (I.E. the blocked kicks).

He will immediately be better than the back ups TN played last year: Scott Solomon, Pannel Egboh, Jarius Wynn, and Keyunta Dawson. Those players took a combined 390 snaps last year resulting in just eight QB hurries and 10 tackles. If you used Hunt instead, I can't imagine a scenario where he would do worse and he would give the Titans more roster spots by consolidating all of those snaps into one person.

Finally imagine how much better the Titans would be in short yardage situations. The defensive line would consist of Ropati Pitoitua (6'8"), Sammie Lee Hill (6'4"), Mike Martin (6'1"), and Margus Hunt (6'8") And would weigh 1,327 lb. if Hunt didn't bulk up. Again that is an average of nearly 6'5" 332 lb. per person if Hunt remains at 277 lb.