Tennessee Titans select Virginia Tech's Caleb Farley with No. 22 pick in 2021 NFL draft
The Tennessee Titans selected former Virginia Tech cornerback Caleb Farley with the No. 22 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft Thursday night.
Farley battled injuries in college, including two back surgeries, but when healthy he was one of the premier corners in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
He fills a major need for a Titans' defense that was one of the worst in the NFL last season and had holes after releasing cornerbacks Adoree' Jackson and Malcolm Butler this offseason.
INSTANT GRADE: Here's what grade Titans get for drafting CB Caleb Farley
Taking Farley, the first player in college football to opt out of the 2020 season, with the 22nd pick marks the second straight year general manager Jon Robinson has kept the Titans' original first-round pick.
He has previously been involved in three first-round trades, two of which were in 2016. That year, his first as GM, Robinson sent the No. 1 pick to the Los Angeles Rams in a blockbuster deal.
After picking an all-time draft bust in Isaiah Wilson last year, there's more than the usual amount of pressure on Farley to be a success in Nashville. Wilson, who was a constant distraction off the field in 2020, played just three offensive snaps for the Titans in 2020. His short-lived stint with Tennessee ended in March with a trade to the Miami Dolphins, who released him after three days.
The Titans are currently scheduled to make eight more picks in the 2021 draft, including three Friday: No. 53 (second round), 85 (third round) and 100 (third round).
Tennessee has No. 126 (fourth round), 166 (fifth round), 205 (sixth round), 215 (sixth round) and 232 (seventh round) on Saturday.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: CB Caleb Farley selected by Titans with the 22nd pick on NFL draft
