No Jeff Fisher, No Vince Young, Who To Select

Last time we saw the Tennessee Titans they were in a completely different situation than they find themselves now, and that makes this an interesting pick. They have pieces set, and some young guys in those positions like Kenny Britt, Chris Johnson, their secondary consists of nobody over the age of 30, and their linebackers had solid years last year. The Titans are another one of those teams that people had high hopes for coming into the 2010 season. They were on a roll at the end of the 2009 season, Vince Young had a great end to the year and had another off season under his belt, and they had one of consensus three best running backs in the league. They were supposed to be going places. Now they have a different coach, lost their top five pick of five seasons ago, and are in a situation where they have many directions where they could go.

This pick comes down to what they need, but also as to what talent is still available. A.J. Green is still on the board, and many believe him to be a top three, top five talent. To get that sort of talent at pick eight would be a bit of a steal. Problem is they had one receiver emerge last year as a star in Britt, they have faith in Nate Washington, and just last year selected Damian Williams who just last year as a rookie showed some flashes as to what he is capable of out of USC. So the question there is a popular one that people debate about all the time, do you draft for need, or do you take the best available player. In that debate it seems like the idea of taking what you need, because at this point they should all be talented in the top 10, should be the prevailing train of thought. You need a few things if you find yourselves in the top 10 selecting a player, so to load up on talent at a spot where you might already be set, at least more so than at other positions, seems rather silly for lack of a better word.

The other direction that they could go in would be on the defensive side of the ball, because both at defensive tackle and the end spot opposite of Justin Babin they seemed to under produce. In this spot if Patrick Peterson were still available that would probably be the direction in which they would go, but with him off the board they should be looking up front. Robert Quinn jumps to mind here because of his talent and work ethic on that defensive line. With Babin on one side and Quinn on the other the Titans would have a good pass rush, and a good one for the near future as Babin is coming off of his best year as a professional.

It really comes down to whether they want to take that talent still left on the board, or go for that defensive line. At this point in the draft, with the Titans probably looking for a new quarterback to follow the same line that Young did and watch Kerry Collins before being thrown into the fire, they might want to try and trade down in the draft and pick up a quarterback later in the round that they might not have available to them come the second round. However, if they were to stay in this pick, the route for them to go would be to sure up that line and take Robert Quinn.

Predictions as of today for this pick:

Me: Robert Quinn, DE, North Carolina
Mel Kiper: Da'Quan Bowers, DE, Clemson
Todd McShay:Nick Fairley, DT, Auburn
NewNFLDraft.com: Da'Quan Bowers, DE, Clemson