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.

The Tennessee Titans are going to be plenty motivated in this game.  They need a win, a Bengals’ loss against the Ravens and a Jets win over the Dolphins to get into the playoffs.  All of those things could happen this Sunday.  The Titans will be looking for revenge against a Texans’ team that whacked them hard 41-7 in Nashville earlier this year.  The Texans are locked into the #3 seed in the AFC Playoffs, so it would be smart of them to limit the P.T. of their starting players in this game.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Titans have the ball:  The Titans are going to need balance offensively if they are going to win this game.  That means that RB Chris Johnson is going to have to pick up the pace this Sunday.  The Texans are only allowing 96.7 yards rushing per game and 4.1 yards per carry so far this year, so they can be run on.  The Texans are a heavy pass rushing team with 41 sacks and opposing QBs only have a 66.2 QB Rating against them this year, so Matt Hasselbeck is going to have to get rid of the ball quickly while also being careful.  To me that sounds like he will be throwing to his TEs and RBs a lot in this game.  TE Jared Cook and Chris Johnson could have big games for the Titans in the passing game.  WRs Nate Washington, Lavelle Hawkins and Damian Williams are going to have to catch short stuff and make plays after the catch.

When the Texans have the ball:  The Titans are going to have to stop the impressive RBs of the Texans if they are going to have any chance of winning this game.  That will be easier said than done as Arian Foster rushed for 115 yards and he also had 119 yards receiving in the first matchup between these two teams.  The Texans will probably limit Foster’s P.T., which should be a good thing for the Titans, but it won’t be.  That is because Ben Tate (855 yards rushing) could be the main man on the ground for most of this game for the Texans.  The Titans are going to have to get after rookie QB T.J. Yates as he will have WR Andre Johnson back for this game.  Johnson will likely only play a quarter or two, but he is going to help the Texans stretch the field.

PREDICTION:  TITANS 21, TEXANS 20

28-year old WR Nate Washington has turned in a very solid 2011 season for the Titans.  He has played in 15 games for the Titans so far and he has caught 70 passes for 931 yards (13.3 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  Those are career high numbers in receptions and receiving yards for Washington.  He has also tied his career high in TD receptions so far this year with one game left to play.  Washington has been consistently good without really dominating as he only has eclipsed 100 yards receiving twice so far this year.  Washington has now played in 95 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has caught 263 passes for 3,892 yards (14.8 avg) with 30 TD grabs.  He has definitely responded to the challenge of being the Titans’ #1 WR in 2011.

The Titans played a solid game as they held off the Jaguars last Saturday.  Matt Hasselbeck completed 24 of 40 passes for 350 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs.  Chris Johnson led the way on the ground for the Titans with 56 yards rushing on 15 carries (3.7 ypc).  Jamie Harper pitched in with 4 carries for 6 yards (1.5 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 1 pass for 5 yards.  TE Jared Cook led the way for the Titans in this game with 8 grabs for 169 yards (21.1 avg) wiht 1 TD grab.  WR Damian Williams (8 rec, 83 yards) and Nate Washington (4 rec, 71 yards) also pitched in for the Titans in this game.  The Titans rushed for 65 yards on 25 carries (2.6 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 40 passes (60%) for 342 yards as they had possession of the ball for 30:59.

Defensively, the Titans were pretty solid.  DE Derrick Morgan (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit) and LB Akeem Ayers (7 tackles) led the way for the Titans’ on D in this game.  Safety Michael Griffin pitched in with 2 tackles, 1 pass defensed and a interception.  The Jaguars finished up with 113 yards rushing on 28 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 42 passes (50%) for 187 yards.  The Titans are now 8-7 on the season and they still have a very slim chance at making the playoffs.

The Titans have lost two games in a row and this is a “must win game” if they are going to have any chance of making it to the playoffs this year.  They lost to the Jaguars in Jacksonville, 16-14 in the season opener.  The Jaguars have lost four of their last five games as they are not playing well right now.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Titans have the ball:  The Titans are likely going to come out throwing the ball against the Jaguars tomorrow.  He should have time to throw the ball, as the Titans’ O-Line has really pass blocked well so far this year.  He will likely spread the ball around to Nate Washington, Jared Cook, Lavelle Hawkins and Damian Williams in this game.  Chris Johnson has been up and down so far this year, so it’s hard to know what to expect out of him.

When the Jaguars have the ball:  The Titans are going to have to gang up to stop RB Maurice Jones-Drew.  That isn’t going to be too easy as the Titans are giving up 127.7 yards rushing per game and 4.4 yards per cary so far this year.  The Titans aren’t too worried about QB Blaine Gabbert and the Jaguars’ passing game.  That is because Gabbert doesn’t really have anyone to throw to.

PREDICTION:  TITANS 23, JAGUARS 13

The Tennessee Titans have claimed 25-year old fullback Quinn Johnson off waivers from the Denver Broncos.  Johnson played in 4 games earlier this year with the Titans and he didn’t carry the ball, but he did catch 3 passes for 30 yards (10.0 avg).  He has now played in 24 games in his first three years in the NFL and he doesn’t have a carry yet, but, he has caught 8 passes for 60 yards (7.5 avg) and he has 4 tackles.

The Tennessee Titans got ambushed in Indianapolis today by an inspired Colts team.  Matt Hasselbeck had a rough day as he completed 27 of 40 passes for 223 yards with 0 TD passes and 2 INTs (one of which was returned 32 yards for a TD by Colts’ CB Jacob Lacey).  Jake Locker tried to bring the Titans back, but to no avail.  He completed 11 of 16 passes for 108 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 9 yards.  Chris Johnson led the way on the ground for the Titans in this game with 55 yards rushing on 15 carries (3.7 ypc) and he also caught 8 passes for 54 yards (6.8 avg).  TE Jared Cook (9 rec, 103 yards), WR Lavelle Hawkins (8 rec, 88 yards) and WR Nate Washington (7 rec, 62 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game today.  The Titans finished up with 66 yards rushing on 19 carries (3.5 ypc) and they also completed 38 of 56 passes (67.9%) for 322 yards as they had possession of the ball for 31:57.

The Titans got pushed around by the Colts, who ran the ball all over them today.  DE Dave Ball (6 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss) and LB Colin McCarthy (6 tackles) led the way for the Titans on D in this game.  Safety Chris Hope pitched in with 2 tackles and 1 fumble recovery in this game for the Titans.  The Colts rushed for 205 yards on 34 carries (6.0 ypc) and they also completed 11 of 17 passes (64.7%) for 82 yards.  The Titans are now 7-7 on the year, but this loss is going to sting for a while.