In an interesting set of moves, the Tennessee Titans traded back up to land offensive tackle Jack Conklin. It was certainly a surprise move by the franchise.
After trading down from the first-overall selection, the Tennessee Titans traded back in to the top ten of the 2016 NFL Draft on Thursday night. Instead of taking Laremy Tunsil like most of us expected to do, the Titans instead selected Michigan State offensive tackle Jack Conklin.
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It marked the third time in four years that the club used their first-round pick on the front wall. In 2013, the Titans used the 10th overall selection on Alabama’s Chance Warmack. In ’14, Michigan tackle Taylor Lewan was grabbed with the 11th pick.
Conklin has aggressively risen up draft boards late in the process, but the Titans investing draft currency in a trade to come up and get him is a surprising move. Conklin is a dominant run blocker who will immediately be able to come in and nail down the right tackle position for the Titans.
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The Titans received a ton of compensation in exchange for coming down to number 15, so the overall set of moves is not bad here. That being said, Conklin’s lack of athleticism limits his upside at the next level. He is never going to be a left tackle, but he does have the natural power and run blocking ability to be a dominant right tackle.
I am not sure this move helps the progression of Marcus Mariota much, but it certainly improves the Titans’ ability to run the ball with DeMarco Murray. With Lewan on the left side and Conklin on the right side, the Titans now have a couple of solid young tackles to build their offensive line around.
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Not my favorite pick of the first round so far, but the Titans clearly targeted a player who they love. But when you finish 26th in the league in rushing in 2014 and follow that up by ranking 25th in the NFL in the same category this past season, you gotta do something.