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Greetings fellow fans, lunatics, and psychopaths alike.
Tomorrow night is draft night, I’ll repeat, tomorrow night is draft night. We’ll all be able to huddle in front of our TV’s, give our corneas a night they’ll probably never forget, and make our blood pressure rise to levels not seen in…months.
That’s probably not good for your health, but at this point who cares?
The Titans are scheduled to pick 7th tomorrow night, with an interesting assortment of prospects potentially being there for selection.
We’ve heard them all, from Joe Alt, to Malik Nabers, Rome Odunze, to even Dallas Turner — pretty sure we’ll see some nasty, nasty comments if Turner turns out to be the pick at 7.
But who will it be? Which prospect will receive the one phone call that’ll change their life? Who knows.
Howevah, that doesn’t mean we can’t try and predict who that specific player might be. And to do that, we’ll use the same tool that’s equivalent to hard drugs for draft fanatics alike.
A mock draft obviously.
Today, I’ll be showing you through my own, my first and only one for this specific draft cycle. You might love it, you might hate it, all I ask is that you respect it.
We’re good? Awesome.
Oh, before we begin, just want to let it be known. I used the PFF draft simulator here and tried to make it as realistic of a draft order as possible based on pre-draft rumors, team needs, etc.
Alright, let’s jump right into it.
Round 1, Pick 10 (via NYJ): Olu Fashanu, OT, Penn State
If you know me, I’ve been team trade back for a couple months now.
I get the appeal of sticking at 7 and potentially getting one of Joe Alt, Malik Nabers, or Rome Odunze. But the Titans still have holes and they don’t have enough picks to fill those holes.
The only top 100 picks the Titans have right now are 7 and 38. Beyond that, their remaining picks are in the in the 4th round (#106), 5th round (#146), 6th round (#182), and the 7th round (#242, #252).
That’s just not enough picks inside the top 100.
So with that in mind, I decided to send the 7th pick to the Jets, in exchange for the 10th overall pick, a 3rd (#72), a 4th (#134), and a 2025 4th round pick.
The Jets are in a win now mindset, especially given the fact that Aaron Rodgers is 40, coming off an achilles tear, and they need a few more pieces around Rodgers to maximize what he can bring to the table.
With that 10th pick, I selected Olu Fashanu, an athletic tackle prospect from Penn State that’s been on the first round radar for some time now.
Some might have an issue with Fashanu’s hand size — 0 percentile according to Mockdraftable — but his height, athleticism, and quick feet are really appealing.
Sidenote: I measured my own hands after writing this, safe to say I’d be the best guard to ever play the game.
Round 2, Pick 44 (via LVR): Ricky Pearsall, WR, Florida
Another trade here, this time with the Raiders.
I sent 38 to the Raiders for #44, #112 and a fourth rounder next year. Used last year’s Titans-Cardinals second round trade up as basis, since Michael Penix was available and the Raiders have been plenty connected to Penix pre-draft.
With 44th pick, I took Ricky Pearsall out of Florida.
The name of the game with Pearsall is that he’s a craft slot guy that has some nice size at 6’1. One of the true downsides though, is that Pearsall has some trouble against man coverage, but since that’s a football related problem that can be solved with coaching and experience, I don’t view it as a big concern.
Round 3, Pick 72 (via NYJ): Jalyx Hunt, EDGE, Houston Christian
Jalyx Hunt — former safety — looks to be a raw small school edge rusher with loads of room for physical development. He has some nice physical traits, including an 80th percentile arm length, but he only stands at 252 pounds, so he could fare off better by adding some more weight.
The big thing with Hunt though is his athleticism. His 10 yard split from his 40 yard dash was pretty good and vertical was 37 ½ inches, which are some damn good numbers.
The big time downside is that Hunt is coming from a small school in Houston Christian, so you obviously jump to a competition jump concern from FCS to the NFL. He also has a big road ahead of him in terms as a pass rusher, another reason why he’s considered so raw.
If the Titans really think they can develop him well, this is a good spot for him, at least initially. He won’t have to start and if he develops well enough, can find snaps as the early years of his career progress.
In other words, he’s an investment with some very solid upside if the Titans can control his development well.
Sidenote: Hunt took a pre-draft visit with the Titans
Round 4, Pick 106: Michael Hall Jr., DL, Ohio State
For starters, the Titans need a lot of depth along the defensive line. But they could also really use some versatility when it comes to skill sets and that’s what Michael Hall can bring.
He isn’t the heaviest at 290, but he makes up for it by being a twitchy pass rushing talent.
The weight is the big topic though, as if he stays more in the range of his lean frame, he’ll be limited to being a sub interior rusher. If he can add some more weight, then we’ll see.
He would bring some immediate impact to the Titans’ defensive line though, potentially giving the team some more pass rushing versatility during traditional passing downs.
Round 4, Pick 112 (via LVR): Hunter Nourzad, Center, Penn State
Nourzad is a versatile offensive line prospect that can play both guard and center. I took him here due to him being able to split out as a guard, a spot the Titans don’t have a lot of promising depth at right now.
He also has some experience at tackle, but that was during his days at FCS Cornell.
The lovely Stoney Keeley mentioned he’s a good mover in space and has a good anchor. Traits that help a good deal at guard if he needs to play there, but will help at center as well.
Saadhiq Charles already possesses the versatile OL role right now, but he’s 4 years into the league and we know what he is at this point. Same for Dillon Radunz. Adding Nourzad gives them some more power and movement, but some nastiness as well.
Round 4, Pick 134 (via NYJ): Jordan Magee, LB, Temple
I struggled a bit with this pick, because at this point there weren’t many intriguing linebackers available. So I ended up with Jordan Magee, mostly due to his impressive athleticism and the fact that the Titans don’t have the best amount of athleticism at the spot right now.
Magee won’t come in and start day one, he’s still way too small and from what I watched, has some work to do when it comes to reacting to plays at the LOS.
But that can be coached, and if you can combine that with the athleticism he has — he was running out stride for stride with outswinging running backs in coverage by the way — you could find yourself with a nice linebacker.
Actually, the more I write about this pick, the more I like it.
Round 5, Pick 146: Malik Mustapha, Safety, Wake Forest
You don’t have to be an expert evaluator to know the player Malik Mustapha is.
He’s a safety that can roam downhill and absolutely punish you, but in a controlled manner. Mustapha really knows how to control his body when it comes to tackling, wasting little movement. If you love a physical safety that can pitch in as a tackler, this is one of your guys.
He still needs some work as a cover safety, but if the Titans’ new staff views Amani Hooker as a centerfield guy, you could bring in someone like Mustapha who roams closer to the line of scrimmage.
Which could help aid the Titans’ lack of linebacker options and depth along the defensive line, but that would have to be a thing if the Titans truly want to play more single high and leave their 3 corners to their business.
We won’t know that until the season though, so no use rambling about it.
Round 6 Pick 182: Myles Cole, EDGE, Texas Tech
Like Hunt, Cole has the physical traits to potentially be a good edge rusher some day. The problem is he isn’t one right now and has some ways to go to be one.
In the Stacking The Inbox draft guide, Keeley says he plays hard, so effort won’t be an issue. It’ll all just boil down to if he can work hard enough and execute in the future.
That’ll really determine if he’s anything more than a potential backup with some hopes and dreams.
Round 7 Pick 242: M.J. Devonshire, CB, Pittsburgh
The Titans don’t have a lot of depth behind their top 3 corners, so adding one in the draft is a good possibility.
I waited a little long to add one, but I ended up taking Devonshire from Pitt, a nice sized corner with a very nice, long set of arms and some impressive production collegiately.
His arm length is in the 91st percentile according to Mockdraftable, a pretty important physical trait for corner play if you didn’t know — look at Roger McCreary for example, with his arms being sooooo short.
Devonshire’s production was pretty good as well, hauling in 8 interceptions and 23 PBU’s during his collegiate career.
I don’t think he’ll last till the 7th round, but if he does — big biggg if — this would be a cool addition to the corner room.
Round 7 Pick 252: Daijahn Anthony, Safety, Ole Miss
With my last pick, I took a swing on a safety/corner hybrid in Daijahn Anthony. Well, a hybrid more so because he’s had experience at corner in the past, but tested as a safety pre-draft.
He seems like a guy that needs to be played more towards the line of scrimmage, but not as some box safety, just a man cover safety/corner that can help as a centerfield safety.
This is another player that should be selected earlier, but if he’s there, he’d be a nice option in the 7th round.
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Love this draft! If only it would go down like this.