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Mel Kiper Jr. has released his re-grading of the 2018 draft classes this morning. His grade went down for the Tennessee Titans.
Jon Robinson was aggressive last year, moving up twice to get two key pieces in the front seven. The Titans moved up to No. 22 to get Rashaan Evans, then moved up a day later to No. 41 to get Harold Landry. The moves plugged two needs, but left the team without draft capital for the remainder of the draft.
Tennessee ended up with just four picks in the draft in total, finishing up with Dane Cruikshank and Luke Falk. Falk, of course, didn’t make the final 53 man roster.
Here’s Kiper’s final take on the class now.
All in all, it’s tough to grade highly such a small class. If Evans and Landry can develop into top-tier talents, that 50 percent hit rate will look nice on GM Jon Robinson’s résumé. But this team had a lot of needs that it couldn’t fill because the picks were traded to move up.
I’m not sure I’d agree with that last part of his analysis. The team had a clear need at edge and inside linebacker. The only other spot left that they didn’t address was receiver, but to be fair, Robinson had Rishard Matthews still in place at this time last year. Sure, you could add a playmaker to the defensive line or add young depth at tight end, but overall, I thought Robinson came out of this draft with his needs filled.
Rashaan Evans really came on at the end of the year, finally breaking out after missing camp. Missing all of those reps in late summer were a big deal. We saw the Titans slowly work him in, but he was one of the better defenders on the team by the end of the year.
Harold Landry didn’t light the world on fire. He registered 4.5 sacks in a rotational role. But he’s going to get his shot as a starter this year. He’s one guy that absolutely has to make a big jump in 2019. The good new on Landry is, we saw plenty of flashes to be excited about.
Kiper ended up giving the Titans a C upon further review. However, the real test will come this year with both Landry and Evans playing full time roles in the defense.