The Tennessee Titans picked 22-year old OLB Akeem Ayers out of UCLA with the 39th overall pick (2nd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Ayers is a big guy at 6’3″, 255 pounds and he runs a 4.65 40, so he’s a great athlete.  Ayers slipped a little bit as he was projected to maybe go in the first round.  He played in 12 games (all starts) for UCLA last year and he had 68 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss, 4 sacks, he broke up 4 passes and he had 2 interceptions.  Ayers played in 37 games (28 starts) in his three years with the Bruins and he had 183 tackles, 29.5 tackles for a loss, 14 sacks, broke up 10 passes and he had 6 interceptions.  Ayers is a playmaker, so I like this pick for the Titans.

The Tennessee Titans picked 23-year old QB Jake Locker out of Washington with the 8th overall pick in the NFL Draft last night.  Locker is a big guy at 6’2″, 228 pounds and he’s a fast runner (4.55) which makes him a nice dual threat with the football.  Locker has problems with accuracy but he also has a rifle arm that allows him to complete passes that other QBs can’t.  Plus he has good mobility to either by time to throw the ball or take off running out of the pocket.  Locker played in 12 games (all starts) for Washington last season and he completed 184 of 332 passes (55.4%) for 2,265 yards with 17 TD passes and 9 INTs.  He played in 40 games (all starts) in his four years with the Huskies and he completed 619 of 1,148 passes (53.9%) for 7,639 yards with 53 TD passes and 35 INTs.  If anyone thought the Titans might think of bringing back Vince Young in 2011, the pick of Locker ends all of that speculation.

The Titans need to reload on defense while also finding a QB next weekend.  Here’s a look at who the Titans picked up in my mock draft:

1st round (#8 overall) – Robert Quinn, DE, North Carolina

2nd round (#39 overall) – Christian Ponder, QB, Florida State

3rd round (#77 overall) – Kenrick Ellis, DT, Hampton

4th round (#109 overall) – K.J. Wright, OLB, Mississippi State

4th round (#130 overall) – Cliff Matthews, DE, South Carolina

5th round (#142 overall) – Austin Pettis, WR, Boise State

6th round (#175 overall) – Ugo Chinasa, DE, Oklahoma State

7th round (#212 overall) – Rob Housler, TE, Florida Atlantic

7th round (#251 overall) – Ben Chappell, QB, Indiana

The Titans would be really happy with this kind of draft as they would get an impact pass rusher (Quinn) and a QB of the future (Ponder) in the first two rounds and quite a bit of help for the defense later on.

The Tennessee Titans drafted a Pro Bowler (Marc Mariani) and a really good corner (Alterraun Verner) last April.  They also got other contributors who could be future starters down the road.  Here is a look at how their rookie seasons went:

Derrick Morgan:  The Titans used the #16 overall pick on DE Derrick Morgan out of Georgia Tech.  He played in 4 games (0 starts) for the Titans last season and he had 5 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1.5 sacks.  Morgan has a lot of potential as a pass rusher, so the Titans hope he can stay healthy for them starting in 2011.

Damian Williams:  In the third round the Titans took Damian Williams (#77 overall) out of USC.  He played in all 16 games for the Titans (1 start) last season and he caught 16 passes for 219 yards (13.7 avg).  He also carried the ball 1 time for 5 yards and he had 4 tackles as a rookie.  Williams has a nice upside, so look for him to be more involved in the passing game going forward.

Rennie Curran:  With the Titans’ other 3rd round pick (#97 overall), they look OLB Rennie Curran out of Georgia.  Curran played in 9 games (0 starts) for the Titans last season and he had 8 tackles.  Look for him to get more P.T. starting in 2011.

Alterraun Verner:  In the 4th round the Titans took CB Alterraun Verner with the 104th overall pick out of UCLA.  Verner played in 16 games (12 starts) for the Titans last season and he had 101 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 11 passes defensed, 3 interceptions, 1 forced fumble and 2 fumble recoveries.  Verner might develop into a Pro Bowler down the road for the Titans, because he’s that good.  This pick was a home run for the Titans.

Robert Johnson:  With the 148th overall pick (5th round), the Titans took free safety Robert Johnson out of Utah.  Johnson didn’t play in any games for the Titans in what amounted to a redshirt year.

Rusty Smith:  The Titans took QB Rusty Smith out of Florida Atlantic in the 6th round with the 176th overall pick.  Smith played in 2 games (1 start) for the Titans last season and he was 20 of 40 (50%) for 200 yards with 0 TD passes and 4 INTs (25.0 QB Rating).  Smith better so something next season for the Titans or he will have to get a real full time job.

Myron Rolle:  In the 6th round (#207 overall), the Titans took strong safety Myron Rolle.  Rolle spent his whole rookie season on the practice squad for the Titans.

Marc Mariani:  In the 7th round (#222 overall), the Titans took WR/PR/KR Marc Mariani out of Montana.  Mariani played in all 16 games (0 starts) for the Titans but he didn’t catch any passes.  Mariani returned 60 kickoffs for 1,530 yards (25.5 avg) with a TD return and 27 punts for 329 yards (12.2 avg) with a TD return last season.  He also had 3 tackles last season.  He made it to the Pro Bowl and he deserved it as he always seemed to give the Titans’ offense good starting field position.

David Howard:  With the 241st overall pick (7th round) took DT David Howard out of Brown.  Howard didn’t get into any games for the Titans and he finished the season on the Raiders’ practice squad.

GRADE FOR 2010:  B+

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  A

The Titans have picked DT David Howard out of Brown with the 241st overall pick (7th round) of the NFL Draft.  He is 6’3″, 290 pounds and he runs a 5.03 40.  He had 30 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and he blocked 1 kick last season for Brown.  This pick looks like a reach as not many draft experts thought he would get picked at all.

The Titans have picked WR Marc Mariani out of Montana with the 222nd overall pick (7th round) of the NFL Draft.  He is a little on the small side at 6’0″, 181 pounds and he runs a 4.51 40.  While not having elite speed Mariani is a tough little guy who knows how to get open.  He played in 15 games for Montana last season and he caught 80 passes for 1,479 yards (18.5 avg).  He didn’t stop there as he also returned 32 punts for 507 yards (15.8 avg) with 1 TD return and he also returned 5 kickoffs for 199 yards (39.8 avg) with a TD return.  In his four years at Montana, Mariani played in 56 games in which he caught 164 passes for 3,018 yards (18.4 avg) with 29 TD grabs.  He also returned 83 punts for 1,243 yards (15.0 avg) with 3 TDs and he returned 42 kickoffs for 1,158 yards (27.6 avg) with a TD.  Mariani will have to make the team based on his special teams play before he gets a legit chance to play WR.

The Titans have picked safety Myron Rolle with the 207th overall pick (6th round) of the NFL Draft.  He is 6’1″, 215 pounds and he runs a 4.62 40.  Rolle is very smart as he graduated from Florida State in 2.5 years earning himself a Rhodes Scholar.  He didn’t play football last season as he was studying in England at Oxford University.  He played in 38 games in his three years at Florida State in which he had 206 tackles, 7 tackles for a loss, he broke up 12 passes, had 1 interception, he forced 1 fumble and he had 1 sack.  Rolle will likely have to win his initial roster spot on special teams before he gets a chance to play any defense with the Titans.

The Titans have picked QB Rusty Smith out of Florida Atlantic with the 176th overall pick (6th round) of the NFL Draft.  Smith has nice size at 6’5″, 230 pounds and he has the arm to make all of the throws in the NFL.  But this is going to be a huge step up in competition so they will be bringing him along slowly.  Hopefully he doesn’t learn anything from Chris Simms over the summer.  Smith completed 145 of 253 passes (57.3%) for 1,915 yards with 14 TD passes and 5 INTs.  He completed 768 passes for 1,361 passes (56.4%) for 10,113 yards with 76 TD passes and 36 INTs.  Smith will likely be the #3 or #4 QB for the Titans as a rookie.

The Titans have picked safety Robert Johnson out of Utah with the 148th overall pick (5th round) of the NFL Draft.  He has nice size at 6’2″, 200 pounds.  He had 66 tackles, 1 forced fumble and he intercepted 6 passes (140 return yards, TD).  Johnson had 148 tackles in his three years at Utah and he also forced 3 fumbles and he intercepted 13 passes (173 return yards, TD).  The Titans need help at safety so this could turn out to be a solid pick for them.

The Titans have picked cornerback Alterraun Verner with the 104th overall pick (4th round) of the NFL Draft.  He is a tad small at 5’9″, 181 pounds and he runs a 4.55 40.  So he doesn’t measure up to what most GMs look for in a corner until you start watching game film.  Verner plays faster than his timed speed as he returned 4 INTs for TDs in his college career.  He also throws his body around especially against the running game.  Verner played in 13 games (all starts) at UCLA last season in which he had 72 tackles, broke up 4 passes, he had 5 interceptions (158 return yards) and he recovered 1 fumble.  He played in 51 games (37 starts) in his four years at UCLA in which he had 279 tackles, he broke up 43 passes, he had 13 interceptions (357 return yards), he forced 3 fumbles and he recovered 2 fumbles.  I think this was a outstanding pick for the Titans as Verner will likely start helping the team right away in 2010.