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I have learned two things from the college football "star-system" of grading. A) Fan bases love to see how their teams did.
B) Everybody loves a five-star. However, those guys are few and far between so rarely does a team grab on of those players. Generally the rankings go something like this:
5-star (100-95): A top-end player that changes an entire team. This player effects the play on every snap.
4-star (94-85): A very good player that will easily step in and be a quality starter. These players aren't going to get the huge contracts of a Larry Fitzgerald or a Calvin Johnson, but they are player that your team can lean on.
3-star (84-70): Solid prospects. Nothing special, but they won't be a hole in your team either. They generally aren't leaders or tempo-setters, but you don't have to game plan around them.
2-star (70-50): Purely a depth player.Can play in a pinch, but if he is a multi-game starter you are in trouble.
1-star (50-0) Someone who can't be trusted to start a game and should be replaced whenever you get a chance.
Now that I have set the ground rules here are how I grade out the Titans signings. These are all new additions to the team, and this system has nothing to do with how much they are getting paid.
5 stars: Andy Levitre OG (95.1)
Levitre is a true difference maker. The former Buffalo star was a brick wall against pass rushers and he may be one of the best run blocking left guards in the league. The Titans added an excellent player here and turned their OL from a weakness to a strength.
4 stars: None
3 stars: Delanie Walker TE/FB (81), Ryan Fitzpatrick QB (78), Shonn Greene RB (76)
Walker headlines this group and had he not played second fiddle to Vernon Davis in San Francisco then may have worked his way up to a 4-star ranking.
Fitzpatrick gets a lot of flack but as a backup QB he will be one of the best. Like a younger Hasselbeck, Fitz has experience playing the best teams in some of the worst conditions and he is the perfect fit in a run first offense.
Greene is one of the most disliked running backs to ever run for 1,000 yards multiple times. His YPC and first down numbers of the last few years have been almost identical to CJ's and putting him behind an improved OL will make him more effective and more confident.
2-stars: Rob Turner OL (68), Kevin Walters WR (59), Chris Spencer C (55)
Turner is by far the best player of these three, but none of them should play many snaps. Turner and Spencer are both much better backups than the Titans have had over the last three years, but unless Tennessee fails to address RG on the first two days of the draft then neither should have a shot at starting.
Walters is decent 4th/5th WR that is consistent, but much less explosive than what the Titans have on the roster. Maybe he is there to help coach up the influx of new WRs Tennessee may choose to add (The Titans could potentially cut Mariani, Washington, and Hawkins for cap room and/or not resign Britt) over the next few years.
1-stars: None
Total Haul: 5-star:1, 3-star:3, 2-star:3
FA Grade: B
Tennessee did a great job landing quality starter and depth, and for once they actually added a top-rated player to that roster. If Tennessee can grab more than one starter in this draft then the team could be in for a complete "U-turn" in a division with two suspect teams and a frustrated powerhouse.