The Tennessee Titans only walked away from the 2018 NFL Draft with four players, but did they come out with the best overall class?
Entering the 2018 NFL Draft, the Tennessee Titans were a team that quietly didn’t have many pressing needs. After the departure of Avery Williamson, they needed help to step in at linebacker from the draft. Meanwhile, they could also stand to use depth at edge rusher with Brian Orakpo’s and Derrick Morgan’s futures being more short-term than long. After that, however, it was looking solid for a 2017 playoff team.
Coming off of their postseason appearance and Wild Card Round win over Kansas City though, the Titans appeared to be at the mercy of the draft a bit. Their first-round pick sat at 25th overall, which put them in danger of not being able to take advantage of a top-heavy class of linebackers. And as the draft began to play out, that’s what happened.
Roquan Smith was off the board first at No. 8, followed by Tremaine Edmunds with the 16th pick and then Leighton Vander Esch at No. 19. That left only one linebacker that most graded as a first-round player remaining on the board. Subsequently, Titans general manager Jon Robinson made his move to get that guy, trading up to No. 22 to select Rashaan Evans.
Evans is the perfect type of player to fill the void left by Williamson. He’s not a perfect player, but he can step in and contribute immediately as a high-level athlete capable of making almost any play against the run or pass, and with upside to be an elite player against both situations.
However, Robinson and Tennessee weren’t done. As the draft progressed into Day 2, one of the biggest surprises was Harold Landry, the edge rusher from Boston College, slipping down the board. Once again, Robinson had enough and traded up. The Titans went from 57th to 41st to take Landry off the board, addressing their other obvious need heading into this draft.
As a result of the trades up, the Titans were ultimately left with only two more picks in the 2018 NFL Draft. In the fifth-round, they added quality safety depth with Dane Cruikshank before getting a backup quarterback in the sixth round with the selection of Luke Falk. Both addressed secondary needs for this roster.
When you talk about the draft, quantity — especially high-quality quantity — often is the sign of a good draft. However, the Titans’ four selections given their situation put them in the conversation for the best 2018 draft class.
This is a playoff team from a year ago that, after adding Malcolm Butler in free agency, is clearly trying to get over the hump and go for it. And with a new coaching staff in place, they could also make strides in doing that as well. Thus, they carried that same mentality into the draft, getting two first-round graded players in Evans and Landry to fill their biggest needs. That’s smart team-building and an even better example of staying the course with a plan.
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You could certainly argue about the quality of other teams’ classes from the 2018 NFL Draft. Having said that, there’s no denying that Tennessee should be in the mix. They targeted their guys, recognized their situation as a team and made calculated risks to trade up for the players they wanted and/or needed. Given that and the quality of the prospects they landed, there’s not much negative to say about how the Titans acquitted themselves.