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Earlier this week, I wrote up what I thought was the best possible scenario for the Titans in the draft take a quick look here to know what I am talking about.
So why is this the best scenario for the draft?
The Texans draft the wrong man for the job...twice.
After the Houston Texans hired Bill O'Brien they did one of the dumbest things they could have in my opinion: they fired Wade Phillips. Now, they will look to hire Romeo Crennel for the vacant defensive coordinator job. While Crennel is a good coordinator, the big question for him is how will he use J.J. Watt? Some have suggested that Watt could be converted to a two-gapping DE, which would severely limit his performance as a pass rusher.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>I wonder if Bill O'Brien hiring Romeo Crennel is a mistake. Hope he do wen' misuse JJ Watt. Pointless to use him as a two-gap end.</p>— Alen Dumonjić (@Dumonjic_Alen) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dumonjic_Alen/statuses/419489319729258496">January 4, 2014</a></blockquote>
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In the mock draft, the Texans draft UCF quarterback Blake Bortles (currently the #51 player on my big board) over Jadeveon Clowney or Teddy Bridgewater. I answer why they would do this is in the draft, but here are some tweets from bigger names than me who agree it could be a possibility.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>A lot of people are going to be shocked when QB Blake Bortles goes No. 1 overall to the <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Texans&src=hash">#Texans</a>...</p>— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) <a href="https://twitter.com/dpbrugler/statuses/419279213904936960">January 4, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Podcast @ 9PM: source intimate w/Bill O'Brien "Blake Bortles much more a Bill O'Brien QB than Teddy Bridgewater" <a href="http://t.co/bSLLxVjaUq">http://t.co/bSLLxVjaUq</a></p>— Tony Pauline (@TonyPauline) <a href="https://twitter.com/TonyPauline/statuses/418910054805291009">January 3, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Bill O'Brien to <a href="https://twitter.com/HoustonTexans">@HoustonTexans</a> = UCF QB Blake Bortles (if he declares) in mix for #1 pick overall. Golden Knights beat PSU 34-31 in Sept.</p>— Phil Savage (@SeniorBowlPhil) <a href="https://twitter.com/SeniorBowlPhil/statuses/418418652354859008">January 1, 2014</a></blockquote>
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The Jaguars continue to be the Jaguars.
Titans fans know this as much as anyone: the Jaguars make dumb draft decisions. This is the team that traded up to draft Blaine Gabbert, the same team that drafted a PUNTER ahead of Russell Wilson, and took a big swing on Justin Blackmon who missed 12 games this season for repeatedly breaking the NFL's substance abuse policy.
So how much of a stretch would it be for that team to draft Derek Carr? Carr isn't a bad player (in fact I think he can be a franchise QB) but I don't think he will end up being more valuable than Jadeveon Clowney or possibly Johnny Manziel (thought I'm not as sold on him).
Titans get a wide variety of choices.
Having the option of Khalil Mack, C.J. Mosley, Cyrus Kouandijo, Taylor Lewan, Greg Robinson, and Eric Ebron would almost be too much. In fact, a team desiring a pass rusher like Chicago, the Giants or Pittsburgh could trade up for Mack. All of those teams have a top-16 pick and may part with a third round pick for Mack.
In that scenario,the Titans either upgrade at RT or MLB in the first, grab the other in the second, and can grab a pass rusher or BPA in the third.
So what do you think?
Let me know what you think of the picks, and the chances (not likely) that the draft could fall this way.