Tennessee Titans Should Trade Up for OT Ronnie Stanley
The Tennessee Titans shook up the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft with a major trade last week. After sending the first overall pick to the Los Angeles Rams, the Titans have a ton of draft capital to work with and are reportedly looking to get back in to the top 10. Is T Ronnie Stanley their trade-up target?
Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson flipped everything we thought about the 2016 NFL Draft upside down last week with a major trade with the Los Angeles. After receiving a ton of draft assets to move down from the first overall selection to No. 15, Robinson appeared primed to fill many major holes across the Titans’ roster.
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However, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. Robinson may not be done dealing first-round picks yet. According to CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora, the Titans are trying to trade back in to the top 10 of the draft.
"“According to numerous NFL executives who have spoken to (Robinson), the general manager is now exhausting possibilities to move back into the top 10 from the 15th pick, and just as many of them fully expected him to deal the first-overall pick,” La Canfora reports. “Now rival execs who know him well are just as confident this team is not done trading.”"
With so many obvious needs up and down the roster, it is difficult to predict who Robinson and the Titans are targeting. With Marcus Mariota on the roster, quarterback is pretty much the only position that we can count out. That being said, targeting and aggressively trading back up for a true franchise left tackle to protect Mariota would make a lot of sense.
Being able to jump back in to Laremy Tunsil area is unlikely, but the Titans can certainly find themselves in prime position to land Ronnie Stanley. The Notre Dame left tackle is not the automatic can’t miss that Tunsil is, but he is an extremely talented player who has a bright future up front at the next level.
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Stanley is extremely quick and athletic for an offensive lineman, and he also shows ideal size (6’6″, 312 pounds) and length (35 5/8″arms) for the left tackle position. He has impressive footwork and natural mirror ability to be a premium pass protector at the next level. Trading up and landing Stanley would allow the Titans to flip Taylor Lewan over to right tackle, and give them talented bookend tackles to protect Mariota for many years.
While Stanley has exciting upside and NFL ability, he is not exactly a finished product. He does not show ideal strength and power which limits his upside as a run blocker. Stanley does show the ability to open up holes in the run game, but he is never going to be a powerful and nasty mauler who will consistently physically dominate his defensive counter-part.
Stanley’s game is built much more on finesse and athleticism, which certainly fits well in today’s NFL where outside speed rushers are the norm. If Tunsil falls out of the top four picks, he needs to be the trade up target for the Titans in the 2016 NFL Draft. That said, trading up for Stanley somewhere from pick seven to 11 is much more realistic and would be a fantastic move for Robinson to make.
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With so much draft capital, the Titans are in a great position to be aggressive and land the players who fit them the best. Nothing is more important for the franchise than protecting their investment of Mariota. Aggressively targeting Stanley is certainly a positive step in that direction.