Titans’ first-round picks since 2010 with grade for each
The Tennessee Titans have seen at least some success with first-round picks since 2010, but the majority of them range from decent to downright awful.
In their last 11 drafts, the Titans have gone mostly with offense in the first round, taking eight players on that side of the ball in total, including multiple wide receivers, quarterbacks and offensive linemen.
Tennessee has chosen four defensive players in that span, and it’s safe to say they’ve had a bit more success going with players in that area.
Of their last 12 first-round picks, five of them are still under contract through 2021 (Taylor Lewan, Adoree’ Jackson, Rashaan Evans, Jeffery Simmons and Isaiah Wilson), while one is hitting the open market for the first time (Corey Davis).
With the 2021 NFL draft only a few months away, we thought we’d take a look back at each Titans first-round draft pick since 2010, while also slapping a grade on each.
2010: DE/OLB Derrick Morgan (No. 16 overall)
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Morgan was a leader and a staple on the Titans' defense for nine seasons, as well as one of the better players at his position in his prime, even after switching to a new position in the middle of his career. It's still shocking to think that he was never given either a First-Team All-Pro or Pro Bowl nod. The Georgia Tech product totaled 44.5 sacks during his career, or an average of 4.9 per season, and 112 QB hits. The Titans got a good one in Morgan in more ways than one, and he was a solid value in the spot he was chosen. It was only fitting that he spent his entire career, which was a bit shorter than we would have liked, in Nashville.
Grade: B+
2011: QB Jake Locker (No. 8 overall)
George Walker IV / The Tennessean
When a team selects a signal-caller as early as the Titans chose Locker, the expectation is that player will be a big part of the franchise for the next decade-plus. However, the opposite was true with the Washington product, who lasted just four seasons in the NFL before retiring in 2015. On top of dealing with injuries, Locker wasn't very good. He compiled a 9-14 record as a starter, completing 57.5 percent of his passes for 4,967 yards and 27 scores to 22 picks.
Grade: F
2012: WR Kendall Wright (No. 20 overall)
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Wright burst onto the scene in his second season in the NFL, totaling 1,079 receiving yards and two scores in 2013. He was the last Titans wide receiver to break the 1,000-yard mark until A.J. Brown did it in 2019. Aside from that season, Wright's production wasn't what you'd expect out of a first-round receiver, as he failed to compile 1,000 yards in any other campaign of his career, and dealt with injury issues, also. Wright hasn't played in an NFL game since 2017 and recently signed on to play in the CFL with the Toronto Argonauts. He certainly wasn't the worst pick we've seen the Titans make, but Wright wasn't a first-round player, either.
Grade: D
2013: OG Chance Warmack (No. 10 overall)
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Warmack did end up being a full-time starter for the Titans for three seasons, but his performance left a lot to be desired, especially for a top-10 pick. In 2016, his last season with Tennessee, Warmack suffered a hand injury that knocked him out of the final 14 games, and the Titans let him walk in free agency after declining his fifth-year option the offseason prior. In 2017, Warmack moved on to play for the Philadelphia Eagles and spent two seasons there, mostly as a backup. He hasn't taken a snap in the NFL since and most recently signed with the Seattle Seahawks in 2020 before opting out due to COVID-19.
Grade: F
2014: LT Taylor Lewan (No. 11 overall)
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The Titans went offensive line in the first round back-to-back years, and the second of those two picks was a much more successful one to say the least. Since being taken at No. 11 overall in 2014, Lewan has become one of the premier left tackles in the NFL, one of the faces of the team, and he gave the franchise some much-needed attitude and personality. The Titans rewarded Lewan with a contract extension in 2018 that is still top five in the NFL among left tackles in terms of annual average. Minus a few hiccups, like his four-game suspension in 2019 and his season-ending torn ACL in 2020, Lewan's career has been a success thus far.
Grade: A
2015: QB Marcus Mariota (No. 2 overall)
George Walker IV / Tennessean.com
Mariota was the second first-round quarterback the Titans took in the decade. While he didn't have the career you'd expect from a No. 2 overall pick and his tenure in Nashville ended after just five seasons, he was easily more successful than Locker. After all, Mariota helped pull the Titans out of the dark ages and looked like a legit franchise quarterback during his first two seasons. He even won a playoff game in 2017. There will always be plenty of "what if's" when talking about Mariota's career in Tennessee. Sure, he was injury prone and inconsistent, but some of the blame for his struggles and ultimate downfall lies on the Titans. There was no stability at offensive coordinator and the team didn't surround him with enough talent until he was already broken and it was too late. Ryan Tannehill, who replaced Mariota as the starter in 2019, was able to turn the Titans' season around with the same cast of characters the Oregon product struggled with through the first five-plus games, which was the final stain on his time with Tennessee.
Grade: D+
2016: RT Jack Conklin (No. 8 overall)
Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
The Titans continued their offensive line rebuild in 2016 by taking Conklin with the No. 8 overall pick, and they were rewarded immediately after the Michigan State product became a First-Team All-Pro in his rookie season. Unfortunately, things went off the rails the next two seasons, as Conklin dealt with injury issues and was ineffective when on the field. However, Conklin righted the ship in 2019 after Tennessee declined his fifth-year option. The Titans failed to re-sign Conklin in 2020, and instead he ended up getting a lucrative deal from the Cleveland Browns. He shined during his first season there and received his second First-Team All-Pro nod.
Grade: B+
2017: WR Corey Davis (No. 5 overall)
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Davis looked like he was on his way to big things after posting 891 yards and four scores in his second season, but that campaign was sandwiched in between two lackluster ones. Davis responded to the Titans declining his fifth-year option in 2020 with his best season as a pro, matching or topping his career-highs in receiving yards, touchdowns, receptions and 100-yard games. While the Western Michigan product proved his ability to be a key cog in the wheel of Tennessee's elite offense last season and has been a willing and sensational blocker, we expected more out of his career as a top-five pick. Not to mention, the immediate success of A.J. Brown, who was a second-rounder and took the reins as the team's No. 1 receiver in 2019, has only made Davis look worse. Of course, there are a lot of factors that play into Davis' mostly disappointing production through four seasons, but even considering those, chances are Tennessee would go in a different direction if given another chance.
Grade: D+
2017: CB Adoree' Jackson (No. 18 overall)
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Jackson had plenty of issues during his first two seasons in the NFL, but you could at least see him developing into a starting corner in that time, and in 2019 he really proved his status as a legit one. The biggest issue for Jackson the last two seasons has been health, as he's missed a grand total of 19 games, including 14 in 2020. When he was on the field last season, Jackson wasn't effective and looked like a shell of himself. The jury is still out on the USC product with one season remaining on his rookie deal. Until we see him perform at a high level in a make-or-break season in 2021, the pick gets a middle-of-the-road kind of grade.
Grade: C-
2018: LB Rashaan Evans (No. 22 overall)
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Evans became a full-time starter in 2019 and turned out to be one of the bright spots on defense for Tennessee, especially as a run defender. In 2020, Evans regressed, and on top of playing poorly, he was a penalty machine with a team-leading eight committed. But, to be fair, just about everyone on the Titans' defense took a step back. If we base the decision to pickup Evans' fifth-year option on what he did last season, it's very possible Tennessee will decline it, setting up a contract year for the linebacker.
Grade: C-
2019: DL Jeffery Simmons (No. 19 overall)
George Walker IV / Tennessean.com
Simmons was slated to be a top-10 pick before suffering a torn ACL in the months leading up to the 2019 NFL draft, so while the Titans were taking a chance taking him so early, there was also the potential for him to be a steal. As it turns out, Simmons was just that. The Mississippi State product got back on the field earlier than most expected in his rookie season and showed flashes of being a dominant player. In 2020, he took that next step and was a force upfront. It'll be important for the Titans to add help around Simmons to take pressure off and really unleash him. For now, he looks like a superstar-in-the-making.
Grade: A+
2020: OT Isaiah Wilson (No. 29 overall)
(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
We didn't really expect Wilson to become a starter in his first season with the Titans thanks to having Dennis Kelly on the roster, but we at least hoped to see Wilson push for the starting job. That never materialized and instead, Wilson showed up to camp out of shape and didn't come close to winning the job. He also had multiple run-ins with the law and trips to the COVID-19 list, served a suspension and then had his season end early after being placed on the Reserve/Non-Football Illness list. In total, Wilson played four snaps in his rookie campaign, one on special teams and three on offense with the Titans in victory formation. Where things go from here remains unclear, but right now Wilson is looking like one of the biggest draft busts in franchise history and his leash will be short in 2021.
Grade: F
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