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The 2014 NFL Draft is only three months away, and it is time for Titans fans to start familiarizing themselves with the prospects. While the Titans have been linked to taking ILB C.J. Mosley for a while, I don't expect that to happen and here is why.
Let me preface this by saying that whoever lands Mosley will have a defensive cornerstone to build around for years to come. While he doesn't always make the splashy play, he is in the same mold as a Luke Kuechly, although a better comparison is former Penn State linebacker Sean Lee.
There are really three reasons why the Titans shouldn't take C.J. Mosley.
Firstly, the Titans have bigger needs at "more valuable" positions. For example, the draft usually hinges on four positions: QB, DE, OT, WR. While I think that the Titans won't be in a position to grab an elite QB (Bridgewater) or DE (Clowney) I think they may have a chance at an elite OT (Matthews) and an very good DE/OLB (Mack/Barr). With that in mind, the Titans are likely to take the highest ranked player on their board from that group considering the likely departure of David Stewart at OT and their lack of a top-end pass rusher.
Secondly, this ILB class is fairly deep and the Titans may be able to snag a guy they like in round four. Players like Jordan Zumwalt (UCLA), Chris Borland (Wisconsin), Shane Skov (Stanford), and Yawin Smallwood (UCONN) stand out as potential value picks for the Titans in Day Three of the draft. With the Titans not having a third round pick, they can't afford to take players early that aren't BPA.
Finally, the free agent ILB market is very strong this year. Karlos Dansby, Brandon Spikes, Arthur Moats, and Akeem Jordan are all scheduled to be free agents this year, and the first two may be perfect fits for what the Titans what to do defensively next year.
With all that in mind, passing up on a player like Jake Matthews from TAMU, or one of the top pass rushers (Barr/Mack) seems like a mistake, and I have faith Ruston Webster will make the right call.