A Look at the 2008, 2009 and 2010 Tennessee Titans Draft

This blog was inspired by a tweet from Gene Frenette who covers the Jacksonville Jaguars and who tweeted about the last 3 years of former General Manager Gene Smith and their number of draft picks still on the roster (half of them are gone). So I decided to take a look at the last 3 drafts under former head coach Jeff Fisher.

2008 NFL DRAFT

2008
1.24	RB	Chris Johnson	East Carolina
2.23	DL	Jason Jones	Eastern Michigan
3.22	TE	Craig Stevens	California
4.04	DL	William Hayes		from ATL through WAS
4.27	WR	Lavelle Hawkins	California	from DAL
4.35	LB	Stanford Keglar	Purdue	compensatory pick
7.22	DB	Cary Williams	Washburn

Of the 2008 Tennessee Titans draft picks, only 2 remain and those are running back Chris Johnson and tight end Craig Stevens. Jason Jones, William Hayes and Cary Williams are still in the league and Hayes plays for Fisher now in St. Louis, Jones for former Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz in Detroit, and Williams for Philadelphia. Hawkins was cut by the Titans last month and signed a 2 year deal with the Patriots. Keglar is a free agent.

2009 NFL DRAFT

2009
1.30	WR	Kenny Britt	Rutgers
2.30	DL	Sen'Derrick Marks	Auburn
3.25	TE	Jared Cook	South Carolina	from NE
3.30	DB	Ryan Mouton	Hawaii
4.30	LB	Gerald McRath	Southern Mississippi
4.35	OL	Troy Kropog	Tulane	compensatory pick
5.37	RB	Javon Ringer	Michigan State	compensatory pick
6.30	DB	Jason McCourty	Rutgers
6.33	WR	Dominique Edison	Stephen F. Austin	compensatory pick
7.30	OL	Ryan Durand
7.33	DB	Nick Schommer	North Dakota State	compensatory pick

Like the 2008 Titans draft, only 2 remain and they are Kenny Britt and Jason McCourty. Britt's issues are well known. McCourty is a good corner and the Titans signed him to an extension on August 23, 2012. Cook now plays for Fisher in St. Louis and Marks signed a one year deal with the Jackonsville Jaguars. Kropog is a reserve lineman for the Vikings and Durand is a reserve lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs. The remainder are currently free agents.

2010 NFL DRAFT

2010
1.16	DL	Derrick Morgan	Georgia Tech
3.13	WR	Damian Williams
3.33	LB	Rennie Curran	Georgia	Compensatory Pick
4.06	DB	Alterraun Verner	UCLA	from SEA
5.17	DB	Robert Johnson	Utah
6.07	QB	Rusty Smith	Florida Atlantic	from SEA
6.38	DB	Myron Rolle	Florida State	Compensatory Pick
7.15	WR	Marc Mariani	Montana
7.34	DL	David Howard	Brown	Compensatory Pick

Of the 2010 Titans draft class, Derrick Morgan, Damien Williams, Alterraun Verner, Robert Johnson, Rusty Smith and Marc Mariani remain. Morgan had a very good 2012 season and Verner has been a solid starter since his rookie year. Williams has played well with limited rotation at the receiver position. Mariani made an impact his rookie year as a returner on special teams and made the Pro Bowl. Mariani suffered a devastating injury during the 2012 preseason, breaking both his tibia and fibula and missed the season.  Johnson and Smith are still on the roster but Johnson received very bad reviews on his performance in 2012. None have received contract extensions and there has been no word of any negotiations. Curran, Rolle and Howard are out of the league. 

In case you missed it, and are interested, I took at a look at the 2011 and 2012 drafts under the new regime here:

2011 NFL DRAFT

2012 NFL DRAFT

I think its safe to say the jury is still out on the 2010 class and that the 2013 season will be big for those seeking to earn roster spots and/or extensions. I view the 2008 with mixed emotions. I was very disappointed the Titans let Jason Jones walk but he and Hayes have been rotational defensive linemen since leaving the Titans. Cary Williams had injury problems with the Titans but turned into a solid starter for the Ravens. The 2009 draft has to be labeled a disappointment in my opinion.

Which Titans Rookie Will Have the Most Impact?

The easy answer here is Justin Hunter and I agree Hunter should make an immediate impact. Having said that, my pick for the rookie who will make the biggest impact is 3rd round pick Zaviar Gooden. Why might you ask when the Titans already have 3 excellent young linebackers in Colin McCarthy, Akeem Ayers and Zach Brown? Well, let's take a look.

The Titans have traditionally used some 4 linebacker packages but they weren't able to utilize this option last season due to injury and ineffectiveness at the linebacker position. Colin McCarthy should be healthy going into 2013 and with fellow backers Ayers, Brown and Gooden they should form the youngest, fastest, most versatile and athletic group of linebackers in the league. Since the Titans tend to rotate, I expect Gooden to play early and often even in their base defense and I expect he will man the Will spot. That's not all I expect from this young man however.

Base 4-3 defense

While I certainly think Gooden could rotate in 3 linebacker packages, I expect the Titans to run more 4-4 defense in 2013. I love this defense. When manned with the right personnel, it is a great run stopping defense that allows for a variety of blitz schemes and provides the defensive coordinator with many opportunities to disguise coverage. Unfortunately, it can also allow for big plays but the Titans added defensive back depth in the offseason and that will be of great benefit. Now that the Titans have the personnel to effectively use it, I think you can expect to see it utilized with a lot of success.

Base 4-4 Defense

When running a 4-4 defense, it is fairly important you have cornerbacks who can play press coverage and are comfortable in man to man because you expect their primary responsibility to be pass coverage. The addition of BW3 should help in that regard because the only other cornerback who has shown that capability is Jason McCourty but I also think Coty Sensabaugh can do it too. The safety should be able to read and react and typically plays fairly deep. This is a role Michael Griffin has traditionally played but I expect the Titans to challenge Griffin in this spot with George Wilson who has played the position and did it well. You might see Bernard Pollard there in certain situations but that will probably be rare.

These are the various ways I see the linebackers and defensive backs lining up in the 4-4. Ayers, Brown and Gooden are easily interchangeable on the left and right side in my opinion but I would expect Colin Mccarthy to stay on the left inside spot. You want your biggest and strongest linebacker in the middle paired with the left defensive tackle for run support so McCarthy fits best there. The left outside linebacker needs to be quick, athletic and good versus the run so I would place Zach Brown there. The right inside linebacker should be quick and a sure tackler and that fits Zach Gooden perfectly. Your best edge rushing linebacker should be in the right outside linebacker spot so I put Akeem Ayers there.

Again, I think Ayers, Brown and Gooden will prove to be interchangeable and Gooden might end up being better at the outside spot so I can see the alignment above too. We all know Brown can rush the passer as well so you might even see him at the right outside linebacker position. Brown in my opinion is also the strongest linebacker next to McCarthy and he is the Titans best tackler as well so I could see him doing well at the right inside linebacker spot. My only hesitation with this scenario is that I think Ayers needs to work on his run defense.

Obviously, this is very basic and simplistic and you can expect to see a lot variations but there you have it. I also think the Titans will show a few 3-4 looks too which could increase Gooden's playing time. I hope you see why I was so excited about this possible addition prior to the draft. Who do you expect to have the most impact and why?