Titans should draft a tight end later
Titans should draft a tight end later
Many mock drafts and draft articles are mentioning that the Titans should draft a tight end at pick 18. OJ Howard is the common name for this pick. The sentiment is either that they will copy New England’s mold of two dynamic tight ends or that he’s an eventual replacement for Delanie Walker or both.
Anthony Fasano was the Titans second tight end. Since the Titans base set is a two tight end offense, he was on the field often. There’s no change in alignment to be made to go to some New England offense. The Titans coach, Mike Mularkey, is a former tight end that uses his tight ends plenty already. Anyhow, Fasano signed with the Miami Dolphins. This was a bigger loss for the Titans than many have stated.
They went from having one of the better all-time blocking tight ends in Craig Stevens, to having Fasano be the top rated blocking tight end by PFF. While Marcus Mariota undergoes physical rehab and recovery from a broken fibula, the last thing the Titans needed to do was lose a blocker on the perimeter. How much did Fasano’s presence help tackles Taylor Lewan and Jack Conklin? They were praised as two of the best young tackles in the league. Was Fasano a bit of an unsung hero here?
AROUND COVER32
2017 NFL Draft: Taking a look at outside linebacker prospect, T.J. Watt
Trivia Blitz Reveal:How did you stack up on Friday’s St. Patrick’s Day football quiz
Prospect Watch:: Is Tennessee RB, Alvin Kamara a good fit in Philadelphia
New England’s two tight offense is not just one blocker and one receiver. It’s that both tight ends can perform each very well. Their tight ends, however, have been superb athletes that few can match up with in the passing game. It’s not like they just threw any two tight ends out there. Rob Gronkowski and either Aaron Hernandez or Martellus Bennett formed a duo that were a matchup nightmare. Maybe a defense had a safety or linebacker that was athletic enough to cover one of them, but two? Most NFL defenses simply aren’t built that deep. The Titans currently have two starting caliber strong safeties, so they are. Most teams have a starter and a backup with a noticeable drop in talent. Use the free safety then! Well, then who is the “safety valve” or “outfielder” to stop the Patriots from sending their wide receivers deep? The Patriots offense was quite successful due to these matchup problems.
Delanie Walker is a fine blocking tight end. Rookies often struggle to block initially in the NFL. Are the Titans confident in Lewan and Conklin with weak tight end blocking while the rookie develops? This is an important point for people that are “pushing” this switch to a Patriots offense to consider. On the flip-side, if the Titans draft a rookie that isn’t a good blocker, they may switch to a pro set with two wide receivers on most first and second downs. The second tight end is a key cog for the Titans.
The Titans have one matchup nightmare in Walker but, the rest of their tight ends are average at best. There is a definite need here.
OJ Howard is a fantastic tight end prospect and will likely have a productive NFL career. This draft is stacked at tight end though. It’s also a dream draft for teams that need a tight end. Most NFL teams have a quality tight end. These teams don’t necessarily need another or envision switching to a two tight end set. For these teams, a second tight end is a backup. An NFL general manager won’t generally draft a backup when there are quality prospects available that can start. The sum of all this will very likely be that quality tight ends fall and fall in this draft.
I believe there are eight quality prospects. I’m reading about the draft all over and my conclusion is almost always eight. Charlie Campbell of WalterFootball seems to agree with this thinking, based on his rankings. Here are his top eight tight ends and one or two of the sentences of his text from this page.
Name | Description |
OJ Howard | Howard could be a mismatch weapon in the NFL in the passing game while also being a quality blocker to be a three-down starter. Howard has upside and could be a dynamic NFL tight end. |
David Njoku | Sources across the NFL have been comparing Njoku to freakishly athletic tight ends like Vernon Davis and Eric Ebron. |
Gerald Everett | Sources have said there is a real buzz about Everett in the scouting community, and he is often compared to the Redskins’ Jordan Reed. They think Everett is a legit receiving weapon for the NFL. |
Evan Engram | Last season, Engram illustrated that he is a dynamic receiving tight end for the NFL in the mold of Jordan Reed. |
Adam Shaheen | Even though he is tall and thick, Shaheen has freaky speed and athleticism for such a big tight end. Teams think that Shaheen could be a versatile tight end to create mismatches in the passing game. |
Jake Butt | Some team sources have said that Butt is a solid prospect and still rate him in the top-five tight end prospects despite his knee injury that could impact his rookie season. |
Jordan Leggett | Leggett is athletic with quickness and has the ability to make tough contested catches. In double-tight end situations, Leggett could be dangerous. |
Bucky Hodges | He is a dangerous receiver who can hurt defenses in the red zone. Hodges needs to improve his blocking for the NFL, but he could be an impactful receiving tight end. |
They all seem like a tight end the Titans would be happy to add to their roster, don’t they?
Campbell pegs Njoku as a first or second rounder. He lists Everett, Engram, and Shaheen as second to third round prospects. Butt, Hodges, and Leggett he considers to be third to fourth round prospects.
With the 18th pick, the Titans could still add a top safety, wide receiver, linebacker, cornerback, running back(?), tackle(?), or defensive lineman. There’s plenty of elite talent to be had. Conversely, in the third round, the talent drop for almost all of these positions is rather large. The drop for tight ends in the third round is comparatively minimal. It’s simply a more sound drafting philosophy to go with the tight end late.
The post Titans should draft a tight end later appeared first on Cover32.
