Titans Stock Watch: After Preseason Game 1

Now that the Titans have their first pre-season match-up in the books, it's time again to look at our ongoing camp stock watch. Following the Titans waterlogged battle against the Packers at LP, we saw a little bit more to add to our mental resumes on the player's camp performances. That said, with the downpour, evaluating offensive skill positions was decidedly tricky. So, who's been impressing over the course of the pre-season process, and who's been laying an egg?

Stock Up

Bishop Sankey, RB

While nobody was down on the rookie runner, Bishop Sankey started off behind the rest of the squad after missing all of OTA's due to the Washington school schedule. But he looked ahead of the curve against the Packers. Sankey was consistent in his NFL debut, showing some of the lateral quickness the Titans drafted him for, despite the putrid conditions at LP Field. More than this, his most impressive plays came through the air, where he was a consistent danger to the Packers defense, highlighted by a bail-out of Charlie Whitehurst on a broken play and a TD catch in the flat. His camp stock is locked in at "ascending".

Stock Down

Colin McCarthy, ILB

The former fourth round pick caught a tough break after suffering a shoulder injury. McCarthy has been a tough competitor in camp, but as part of a clogged rotation, missing significant time might mean the end of his time in Tennessee, as unfortunate as it is. We'll know more when the results come back on his prognosis, but things don't look rosy for McCarthy at this juncture. He may have just made Ruston Webster's job on cut-day, that much easier, unfortunate as it is.

Stock Up

Daimion Stafford, Safety

Stafford was a pleasant surprise in the Titans debut pre-season tilt. The second year safety showed some hard-hitting tackling, and was effective in coverage as well. In a day where more than one Titan defenders missed the mark in the tackling department, Stafford shone. Ken Whisenhunt singled out the backup Free Safety for praise at the halftime period during the Packers game, and the Titans should feel comfortable if he continues to grow; having depth behind Griffin is something the Titans have lacked for years. It's still early, but they may have found their man.

Stock Down

Akeem Ayers, OLB

After undergoing bilateral knee surgery in the off-season, Akeem Ayers is still very much a recovering product. He didn't seem entirely comfortable during the game, and had trouble disengaging from blockers. We'll be able to get a better evaluation on Ayers against the Saints next weekend, but it was easy to see why he was slotted behind Kamerion Wimbley at OLB when last week's initial depth chart hit the shelf.

Stock Up

Zaviar Gooden, ILB

Gooden was something of the forgotten man last season in his rookie year. He changed that in game one of the pre-season this go-around. Gooden was lively on defense, playing sideline to sideline in limited snaps, and make a huge heads-up play on special teams, recovering a fumble to set the Titans up inside the red-zone. The fleet-of-foot linebacker is competing for an inside spot this season, and might see more time than previously thought if he can continue to trend in the right direction.