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Mel Kiper has released his second mock draft of the draft season (In$ider), and he has the Titans going with Leonard Williams, DE, USC. This is going to make a lot of people around here happy because the Williams bandwagon has gotten pretty full. Here is what Kiper had to say about the pick:
I realize there's a pretty significant question about whether the Titans truly have an answer at quarterback on the current roster. But I am not convinced Tennessee will be compelled to take Marcus Mariota here just because they aren't convinced that, say, Zach Mettenberger's development is still an open question. This is a team that went backwards in multiple areas in 2014, and unless you believe Mariota comes in and is able to make you better in 2015, I think you're in a position to take the best football player available. Williams has the potential to be a force early in his career, make your defensive line better against both the run and the pass, bring scheme versatility and make other players around him better. If Winston is available, he becomes an option, and trading down is certainly one if there's a team who that wants Mariota. But Williams makes sense.
Kiper had the Titans taking Marcus Mariota in his first mock. It seems that he has gotten smarter in the last few weeks. Mariota slid all the way to the New York Jets at 6 in this version.
My case for Williams to the Titans is really simple: They need a unit on the team that is dominant. They don't have one of those right now. If they can add a guy that can play nose in free agency and draft Williams, they will have some studs to line up next to Jurrell Casey.
