The Titans had to be amazed that DE Derrick Morgan of Georgia Tech was waiting for them with the 16th pick of the first round of the NFL Draft.  Morgan played in 14 games (all starts) for Georgia Tech last season in which he made 55 tackles, had 18.5 tackles for a loss, he had 12.5 sacks, batted down 1 pass, he forced 2 fumbles and he recovered 2 fumbles.  Morgan is not just a pass rusher at 6’4″, 275 pounds as he is a every down end who can defend the running game well also.  He played in 39 games (27 starts) at G.T. in which he made 103 tackles, had 29.5 tackles for a loss, he had 19.5 sacks, batted down 5 passes, he forced 2 fumbles and he recovered 3 fumbles.  I bet Jeff Fisher did a backflip in the War Room when Morgan dropped to them at #16.

The Titans are looking forward to being able to fill a lot of holes in this weekend’s NFL Draft.  The Titans have 3 of the top 97 picks in this weekend’s NFL Draft and they have 9 picks overall.  I don’t see the Titans trading very much this weekend but they are talking to the Redskins about DT Albert Haynesworth.  The Titans should make that happen for a 3rd round pick or lower.  The main needs on the Titans coming into this weekend are DE, OLB, CB, QB, C and G.  With that in mind I feel that they will be targeting QB Jimmy Clausen, C Maurkice Pouncey, G Mike Iupati, CB Kyle Wilson and DE Jason Pierre-Paul.  Watching the sieve like play of the secondary last season I just have a hard time believing that the Titans won’t pick a corner in the first round.

PROJECTED FIRST ROUND PICK:  CB, Kyle Wilson, Boise State

The Titans drafted 11 players last April and only one of them (Kenny Britt) had much of a impact.  They need to do better this April.  WR Kenny Britt (1st round, #30 overall) out of Rutgers was a solid player for the Titans last season.  He played in all 16 games for the Titans last season and he caught 42 passes for 701 yards (16.7 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Britt also helped out some on special teams as he returned 24 kickoffs for 523 yards (21.8 avg).  DT Sen’ Derrick Marks (2nd round, #62 overall) out of Auburn didn’t help much as a rookie.  He played in 9 games for the Titans last season and he finished up with only 12 tackles, 1 sack and 1 pass defensed.  TE Jared Cook (3rd round, #89 overall) had a good pre-season for the Titans but when the real bullets started flying he didn’t help out too much.  Cook played in 14 games for the Titans last season and he caught 9 passes for 74 yards (8.2 avg).  CB Ryan Mouton (3rd round, #94 overall) out of Hawaii got some P.T. as a rookie last season.  He played in 14 games for the Titans last season and he finished up with 24 tackles including 1 tackle that was for a loss.  Linebacker Gerald McRath (4th round, #130 overall) out of Southern Mississippi pitched in playing in all 16 games for the Titans last season in which he made 47 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, defensed 1 pass and he picked off a pass.  OT Troy Kropog (4th round, #135 overall) out of Tulane only played in 1 game (0 starts) for the Titans as a rookie.  RB Javon Ringer (5th round, #173 overall) out of Michigan State played in 7 games last season for the Titans and he carried the ball 8 times for 48 yards (6.0 ypc).  He also returned 9 kickoffs for 181 yards (20.1 avg) and he made 1 tackle.  Keep your eyes on Ringer as he could move up the depth chart soon.  CB Jason McCourty (6th round, #203 overall) out of Rutgers played in 15 games for the Titans last season and he made 29 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and he forced a fumble.  WR Dominique Edison (6th round, #206 overall) out of Stephen F. Austin played in 5 games for the Titans as a rookie but he didn’t catch any passes.  Guard Ryan Durand (#239 overall, Syracuse) and free safety Nick Schommer (#242 overall, North Dakota State) were both picked in the 7th round by the Titans last April and neither of them made it to the field.

GRADE IN 2009:  D+

GRADE IN THE FUTURE:  C-

The Tennessee Titans aren’t getting much production out of their rookies this season.  WR Kenny Britt (1st round, #30 overall) is the best of this rookie crop.  He has caught 20 passes for 296 yards (14.8 avg) so far this season leading the Titans in both categories.  DT Sen’Derrick Marks (2nd round, #62 overall) has 1 whopping tackle so far this season.  The Titans have to be disppointed in Marks so far this season.  TE Jared Cook (3rd round, #89 overall) has caught 6 passes for 41 yards (6.8 avg) so far this season for the Titans.  He played really well in the pre-season for the Titans but he is not high on the depth chart as of yet.  CB Ryan Mouton (3rd round, #94 overall) has made 17 tackles one of which was for a loss.  He has also returned 1 kickoff for 14 yards and 6 punts for 37 yards (6.2 avg) for the Titans this season.  Mouton quickly lost his return jobs due to him not catching the ball too well.  LB Gerald McRath (4th round, #130 overall) has six tackles so far this season for the Titans.  OT Troy Kropog (4th round, #135 overall) has not got onto the field yet this season for the Titans.  RB Javon Ringer (5th round, #173 overall) looked like a keeper before a recent injury.  He has carried the ball 7 times for 47 yards (6.7 ypc) and he has returned 9 kickoffs for 181 yards (20.1 avg) this season.  CB Jason McCourty (6th round, #203 overall) has 22 tackles this season and he has returned 3 kickoffs for 72 yards (24.0 avg).  Look for McCourty to get more playing time the 2nd half of the year for the Titans.  WR Dominique Edison (6th round, #206), OG Ryan Durand (7th round, #239) and FS Nick Schommer (7th round, #242 overall) have yet to play a game for the Titans.  This does not appear to be one of the better drafts that the Titans have had lately.

The Titans will probably be without 22-year old running back Javon Ringer for the next 2-3 weeks with a back injury.  Ringer has played in six games for the Titans this season and he has carried the ball 7 times for 47 yards (6.7 ypc).  He has also returned 9 kickoffs for 181 yards (20.1 avg) this season.  The Titans will just lean on Charles Johnson and LenDale White a little more with Ringer out of action.  Ringer was a very solid 5th round pick for the Titans out of Michigan State.

The Titans might have reached a bit here but Marks does have a good upside if Titans’ coaches get him motivated in the weight room.  Marks has freakish speed off the snap but he isn’t overly strong for a lineman.  Marks is 6’1″, 300 pounds so he could probably add some sand in his shoes.  Marks played in 40 games (37 starts) in his 4-year career at Auburn and he made 114 tackles, had 30 tackles for a loss, made 7.5 sacks, batted down six balls, forced 2 fumbles and he recovered 4 fumbles.  If the Titans think that Marks is ready to step in for the departed Albert Haynesworth they are badly mistaken.

The Titans decided to take the best player on their board in the first round and that was WR Kenny Britt who could earn a starting job with the team in his rookie season.  Britt is a good run blocker and he has a great set of hands.  He is the all-time leading receiver in the Big East despite leaving after his junior season.  Britt is a big guy at 6’3″, 215 pounds but he runs a 4.55 40.  Britt played in 34 games (31 starts) in his 3-year career with Rutgers and he caught 178 passes for 3,043 yards (17.1 avg) with 17 TD grabs.  This was a outstanding pick for the Titans as Britt might be the best all-around WR in this draft.

I couldn’t have been more wrong about RB Chris Johnson who was the first round pick of the Titans last season.  He might be the fastest running back in the NFL as he just needs a little bit of daylight to get to the end zone.  Johnson played in 15 games (14 starts) for the Titans last season and he carried the ball 251 times for 1,228 yards (4.9 ypc) with 9 TD runs.  He also caught 43 passes for 260 yards (6.0 avg) with 1 TD grab last season.  Johnson even returned a kickoff for 17 yards and made a tackle as he can do almost anything on a football field.  The sky is the limit for Johnson.  In the 2nd round the Titans selected defensive end James Jones who came on very strong late in his rookie season.  Jones played in 13 games (3 starts) last season for the Titans and he made 31 tackles, had 5 sacks, forced 3 fumbles and defensed 2 passes.  Look for him to be a impact starting DE in the NFL.  In the 3rd round the Titans picked TE Craig Stevens who didn’t do much as a rookie last season.  He only caught 1 pass for 9 yards last season.  DE William Hayes was the first of three 4th round picks for the Titans last season.  He played in 8 games (0 starts) for the Titans last season and he made 13 tackles, had 1 sack, forced 1 fumble and he defensed 1 pass.  Hayes could get more playing time in 2009 for the Titans.  WR Lavelle Hawkins was also selected in the 4th round by the Titans.  He played in 13 games (1 start) for the Titans last season and he caught 7 passes for 68 yards (9.7 avg).  He also returned 7 kickoffs for 130 yards (18.6 avg) and made 1 tackle.  OLB Stanford Keglar was the other 4th round pick of the Titans and he played in 13 games (0 starts) and made 12 tackles.  Cornerback Cary Williams was the 7th round pick of the Titans and he played in 1 game (0 starts) and didn’t make any tackles.

GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B+

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  A

The Titans drafted Cary Williams because of his athletic ability as he was not a dominating player despite playing at Washburn & Fordham.  Williams played in 36 games (24 starts) in college and he made 94 tackles and had 7 interceptions including one that he returned for a TD.  It will be a surprise if Williams does anything more than playing on special teams in the NFL.

Stanford Keglar plays hard all the time and that’s his greatest asset on the football field.  He is 6’1″, 245 pounds and he runs a 4.69 40 which is good for a man his size.  He played in 50 games (41 starts) at Purdue and he made 250 tackles, had 1.5 sacks and made 13.5 tackles for a loss.  He’s not flashy but he projects into being a backup linebacker and special teams ace.