The Tennessee Titans found a future starting QB and a lot of good defensive players in last April’s NFL Draft.  Here is a look at how well the rookies played in their first taste of the NFL in 2011:

In the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft, the Titans picked 23-year old QB Jake Locker.  Jake Locker played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Titans last year and he completed 34 of 66 passes (51.5%) for 542 yards with 4 TD passes and 0 INTs (99.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 8 times for 56 yards (7.0 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Locker is going to be the starting QB of the very near future for the Titans as he will likely compete with Matt Hasselbeck for the starting job in the 2012 training camp.

22-year old LB Akeem Ayers was picked in the 2nd round.  He played in 16 games for the Titans last year and he had 76 tackles, 2 sacks, 4 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 2 passes defensed.  He will likely be a starter for the Titans for a long time.

22-year old DT Jurrell Casey was picked in the 3rd round by the Titans.  He played in all 16 games for the Titans last year and he had 52 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 5 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 2 passes defensed.  Casey has a huge upside and he will likely be a starter for a long time for the Titans.

23-year old LB Colin McCarthy was picked in the 4th round by the Titans.  He played in 13 games for the Titans last year and he had 68 tackles, 7 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 3 passes defensed and 1 interception.  McCarthy is likely going to be a starter for a long time for the Titans.

22-year old RB Jamie Harper was also picked in the 4th round by the Titans.  He played in 13 games for the Titans last year and he carried the ball 17 times for 44 yards (2.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Harper also caught 4 passes for 32 yards (8.0 avg) for the Titans last year.  He will need to improve if he wants to see more P.T. in 2012 and beyond.

23-year old DT Karl Klug was a 5th round pick of the Titans.  He played in all 16 games for the Titans last year and he had 20 tackles, 7 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 4 passes defensed and 2 tackles for a loss.  Klug was a steal where they got him as he is an outstanding inside pass rusher.

23-year old OT Byron Stingily was picked in the sixth round by the Titans.  He didn’t get into any games as a rookie.

24-year old DT Zach Clayton was a 7th round pick of the Titans.  He played in 3 games for the Titans last year and he had 3 tackles.

24-year old CB Tommie Campbell was also a 7th round pick by the Titans.  He played in 15 games for the Titans last year and he had 8 tackles and 2 forced fumbles.

GRADE FOR 2011:  A

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:   A++++++++++

The Titans have signed four players to future/reserve contracts.  Two of the players are defensive and the other two are special teams players.  26-year old DE Keyunta Dawson is  the only player of this bunch that played in the NFL this year.  He played in 2 games for the Lions in which he made 1 tackle.  Dawson has now played in 60 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 114 tackles, 1 sack, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 5 fumble recoveries and 2 passes defensed.  24-year old safety Al Afalava did not play in 2011.  He has played in 17 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 57 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 7 passes defensed.  27-year old WR/KR/PR Darius Reynaud also took a year off in 2011.  He has played in 23 games in his first three years in the NFL and he has returned 53 punts for 440 yards (8.3 avg) and he has also returned 33 kickoffs for 677 yards (20.5 avg).  26-year old long snapper Jake Ingram has also been signed by the Titans.  He has played in 25 games (0 starts) in his first three years in the NFL.  This looks like a decent start on improving the depth on the team for the 2012 season.

The Titans are likely going to open up the competition at QB for the 2012 season but that doesn’t change the fact that Matt Hasselbeck turned in a very solid season for the Titans in 2011.  Hasselbeck led the Titans to a 9-7 record as they just missed the playoffs.  He played in 16 games (all starts) for the Titans last year and he completed 319 of 518 passes (61.6%) for 3,571 yards with 18 TD passes and 14 INTs (82.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 20 times for 52 yards (2.6 ypc) last year.  Hasselbeck has now played in 186 games (147 starts) in his NFL career so far and he has completed 2,891 of 4,797 passes (60.3%) for 33,150 yards with 194 TD passes and 142 INTs (82.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 326 times for 1,191 yards (3.7 ypc) with 8 TD runs so far in his NFL career.  He is now 78-69 (53.1%) as a starting QB during the regular season in his NFL career.

23-year old rookie QB Jake Locker looked outstanding as a relief pitcher for the Titans in 2011.  He played in 5 games (0 starts) in which he completed 34 of 66 passes (51.5%) for 542 yards with 4 TD passes and 0 INTs (99.4 QB Rating).  Locker also carried the ball 8 times for 56 yards (7.0 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Locker has a great throwing arm and he has outstanding mobility and isn’t scared to take off running the ball.  He will compete with Matt Hasselbeck for the starting QB job in 2012.

The Titans won this game by the smallest of margins as the Texans decided to go for two points on the last play of the game, and they were stopped.  Matt Hasselbeck completed 22 of 35 passes for 297 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Chris Johnson led the way on the ground for the Titans in this game with 61 yards rushing on 15 carries (4.1 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 49 yards (12.3 avg).  Jaime Harper pitched in with 4 carries for 19 yards (4.8 ypc) in this game.  WR Nate Washington led the way for the Titans in this game with 4 grabs for 92 yards (23.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  TE Jared Cook (4 rec, 63 yards) and WR Donnie Avery (3 rec, 45 yards, TD) also pitched in for the Titans in this game.  The Titans finished up with 86 yards rushing on 22 carries (3.9 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 35 passes (62.9%) for 275 yards as they had possession of the ball for only 25:22.

The defense gave up a lot of yards to the Texans last Sunday.  Safety Michael Griffin (11 tackles), CB Jason McCourty (9 tackles and 3 passes defensed) and LB Colin McCarthy (8 tackles and 1 pass defensed) led the way for the Titans in this game on D.  DT Jurrell Casey (6 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks and 2 QB hits) and safety Chris Hope (fumble recovery) also pitched in with big plays for the Titans.  The Texans finished up with 152 yards rushing on 30 carries (5.1 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 32 passes (68.8%) for 235 yards.  The Titans finished the 2011 season with a 9-7 record but they lost the tiebreaker with the Cincinnati Bengals, thus missing the playoffs.