The Titans have not surrounded quarterback Vince
Young with talented receivers, and this year's draft was no exception. The
Titans spent their first pick on running back Chris Johnson. On defense, the
loss of ends Antwan Odom and Travis LaBoy led the team to take defensive end
Jason Jones in the second round
Round 1, Pick 24 (24) Chris Johnson RB 5'11" 197 East Carolina
He had the fastest 40-yard dash at the combine at 4.24 seconds. He's most
effective in packages where you split him out wide or get him in space because
of his tremendous speed. He'll be a compliment to the power-rushing style of
LenDale White
Round 2, Pick 23 (54) Jason Jones DE 6'5" 273 Eastern Michigan
The Titans need to replace Antwan Odom at the right defensive end position,
which is likely where a guy like Jones fits in.
Round 3, Pick 22 (85) Craig Stevens TE 6'3" 254 California
Stevens is going to be asked to protect Vince Young and he's going to run block
a lot. His style is similar to Anthony Becht. He is a decent underneath receiver
but not suited to go deep.
Round 4, Pick 4 (103)
(From Falcons through Redskins) William Hayes DL 6'2" 258 Winston-Salem State
The Titans have a need at defensive end after having lost Antwan Odom to the
Bengals in free agency.
Round 4, Pick 27 (126) (From Cowboys) Lavelle Hawkins WR 5'11" 187 California
He does not possess exceptional speed, but was outstanding at the Senior Bowl.
Round 4, Pick 35 (134)
(Compensatory selection) Stanford Keglar OLB 6'2" 239 Purdue
He had phenomenal numbers in the workouts, including a 4.55 40 and a great
vertical.
Round 7, Pick 22 (229) Cary Williams CB 6'1" 185 Washburn
Williams was discovered at the Kansas Pro Day and worked out very well. His
measurables are strong and he played from Day one at Fordham.
Tennessee Titans 2008 NFL Preview
The Titans are going to need to
get production from Vince Young, how they expect to get it with that
crop of receivers we are just not sure. The Titans defense will
continue to do its job, but you can't win in the NFL if you can't
throw the ball. Chris Johnson is a nice player, but LenDale White
established himself just fine last year and the Titans left a lot of
great receivers on the board.
Offense: Vince Young just doesn't seem to have the magic he
had in college, it could be related to the weak group of receivers
the Titans employ. LenDale white established himself last year and
he is now joined by the speedy Chris Johnson, but a receiver would
have made more sense to us. Mike Hermerdinger is the new coordinator
who is expected to improve the horrible red zone play with Alge
Crumpler available to Young when they get down deep. Whatever the
case, Young must improve on his 9-17 td to interception ratio for
the Titans to have a chance.
Defense: Jevon Kearse is back and the right side is amazing
with Kyle Vanden Bosh and Albert Haynesworth so the line should be
one of the better in the league. The secondary did just fine without
Pacman Jones last year so expect the defense to remain in the top
ten again.
Overall: The big question with the Titans remains Vince
Young. He has all the ability in the world, but must improve his
decision making. With the strong backfield and monster defense,
expect the Titans to be pretty much good as always, the problem is
9-7 may not make them the playoffs this year.
We learned
last year to be careful when picking against Tennessee, but all we
can do at this point is gauge teams on paper, and to us,
Indianapolis, Jacksonville and Houston are all better right now
