FanPost

Look at Free Agency and the Draft

Before I knew it the 2022 NFL Draft has snuck up on me yet again. But, before talking about the draft I just wanted to briefly go over free agency and how this team looks afterwards.

As many of us know the Titans are pretty cash strapped and expecting a splashy free agency is unrealistic. The most notable signing was resigning Harold Landry. If this was the only resigning the Titans did I would’ve been happy. That is how important I though Harold Landry was to this team. Thankfully the Titans also resigned Ben Jones, a move that I also agreed with. To make room and clear up cap space the Titans let go of several notable players such as Rodger Saffold, Jackrabbit Jenkins, and Julio Jones. Some other players allowed to walk in free agency include Dane Cruikshank, D’Onta Foreman, and Khari Blasingame. While it was expected that some of these players would be let go it still hurts to see some of these names go. I’ve already made my thoughts on the Julio Jones release clear but I also want to quickly address the others. Jackrabbit and Saffold were both cap casualties. While they both didn’t have their best seasons they did an admirable job with what they could. Dane, D’Onta, and Khari were all also underappreciated players who were able to do the dirty work quite unnoticeably. I’m sure we all hope the best for all of these former Titans.

The two biggest free agency acquisitions are the Austin Hooper signing and the trading for Robert Woods. I like both of these signings as they address positions of needs for this football team. It is nice to see that the Titans realized we need a legitimate tight end and a wide receiver two behind AJ after the release of Julio. However, I still fully expect both of these positions to be addressed in the draft.

Speaking of the draft, we all know that there are still more positions that need to be addressed. The team can certainly use upgrades and depth in multiple positions such as offensive lineman, tight end, wide receiver, running back, and maybe even defensive back (both safety and corner).

After seeing a complete 180 last year in the defense playing tremendous and the offense falling back I think that this draft should be used primarily on offense. AJ Brown is great but is currently holding out for a new contract. With the crazy offseason trades that have happened so far I wouldn’t put it past anyone to be safe despite what Jon Robinson and Mike Vrabel have said about AJ. Robert Woods is currently nursing a torn ACL injury and historically speaking; players often are not quite the same the following season after an ACL season. With questions about our top two receivers heading into next season this position must absolutely be addressed. Despite the Austin Hooper signing tight end must also be addressed because he and Geoff Swaim are simply not enough. After letting go of Rodger Saffold and also letting David Quessenberry walk we need to add at least another offensive lineman for both depth, competition, and or even a starter. After letting Foreman walk in free agency and missing King Henry for half the season, finding a reliable backup running should also be high on the priority list.

Defense might actually need a little more depth in it as well. We can potentially draft another corner and or safety as well for depth. We are not quite as in need for a defensive back as we are other positions but it can be addressed as well. Middle linebacker might also be a position addressed as we lost a few in free agency and can add another depth guy.

The most interesting position that can be addressed is the quarterback position. Now the feelings about Tannehill are all over the place. Vrabel and Robinson have both backed up Tannehill and I think that realistically he will be the starter next season. However, as seen in recent memory if there is a quarterback that the Titans love at 26th they can pull the trigger and get their guy of the future and put Tannehill on notice. Heck, if financials weren’t an issue I would’ve brought back Mariota to push Tannehill. Now I have also made my stance on Tannehill clear but in this situation I don’t think that this taking a quarterback at 26th will be the answer. Firstly, I don’t feel strongly about any of the quarterbacks in this draft and it seems that the media is hyping up these quarterbacks in a relatively weak quarterback class. Secondly, if the Titans are still in their superbowl window I don’t know if they can afford to draft a quarterback at 26th. I would really prefer the Titans not draft a quarterback at 26th and just take a player who can contribute now to the closing superbowl window.

If it were up to me I would trade down from 26th. Considering we don’t have a second rounder this year and we have more holes on the roster that can’t be filled with free agents we need as many picks as we can get.