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Will the Tennessee Titans SEC bias change the draft for them?

Why the Titans may go a different route in the 2014 NFL Draft based on Ruston Webster's history.

USA TODAY Sports

In the 2013 NFL Draft the Tennessee Titans drafted four players from the SEC. While this isn't a trend that they have historically followed, the more power Webster gains and the more comfortable he gets, the more it seems like the Titans may be biased towards taking players from the SEC.

Aside from last year's draft, the Titans free agent class included Chris Spencer (Ole Miss), Mookie Johnson (Mississippi State), Michael Oher (Ole Miss), Wesley Woodyard (Kentucky), and Dexter McCluster (Ole Miss) all of which are former SEC players. A few players may be a coincidence, but nine players in less than a year seems like a trend rather than an anomaly.

With the SEC considered to be the best conference in college football (and it makes a ton of sense to draft from the conference that produces so many dominant college players) this trend could/should drift into the 2014 NFL Draft. So which SEC players could get the edge over other contemporaries?

*The numbers after the players are their ranks on my big board.

Edge Rusher: Anthony Barr, UCLA (15) vs Dee Ford, Auburn (29)

Barr is an exceptional speed rusher with a ton of promise, but there are reasons why this makes sense as a comparison. Barr is a pure upside player that hasn't really had a lot of promising offensive tackles to match up with, where Ford has done nothing but go against top-end players. Ford dominated in the same way that Barr did, but his SEC pedigree could push him over the top.

Wide Receiver: Odell Beckham, LSU (19) vs Brandin Cooks, Oregon State (20)

Both of these players project best to #2, outside receivers that would be the perfect compliment to Justin Hunter and Kendall Wright. This matchup is really a coin flip, but SEC ties could be the determining factor.

Offensive Tackle: Morgan Moses, Virginia (32) vs Cyrus Kouandijo (38)

Moses is one of those players who really didn't get a lot of publicity during the year, but whose tape is much better than some of the bigger names. CK took a little bit of a hit after a bad physical at the combine, but with teams saying that it hasn't taken him off their boards, I am reluctant to penalize him too much. I don't think he is a talent that teams can't pass up in round one, and I doubt someone is willing to stick their neck out for him. However, in round two the Titans could opt to take him based on what Whisenhunt did with a similar player in D.J. Fluker last year.