NFL Draft: Redrafting the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft
player. 35. . OT. Tennessee Titans. DeForest Buckner. 8
NFL Draft: Redrafting the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft 8. DeForest Buckner
Originally selected 7th overall (-1)
In the 2016 NFL Draft, the Tennessee Titans were looking for an offensive tackle. They’d find one in Michigan State’s Jack Conklin, but his career wouldn’t pan out quite as well as expected.
Surprisingly, Conklin had an incredible rookie season with the Titans, helping the league’s best offensive line to their best season in franchise history. On the way, Conklin would be selected as a First-Team All-Pro offensive tackle. But this would be his last year with any sort of recognition with the Titans. He’d eventually have his fifth-year option declined by Tennessee and be signed by the Cleveland Browns.
To put it bluntly, if Jack Conklin couldn’t do well long-term as an offensive tackle, maybe the Titans should look elsewhere.
That’s why they’ll select DeForest Buckner with this pick. Buckner went with the 7th pick in the actual 2016 NFL Draft but slides a spot back to a better fit with the Tennesee Titans. Since being drafted, he has had a strong career, highlighted by a Pro Bowl appearance in 2018 and a First-Team All-Pro selection in 2020.
This would work out as a better long-term option for a Titans team that was also searching for a defensive tackle in the 2016 NFL Draft.