One of the areas Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson has thrived in during his tenure in Nashville is adding young talent through the NFL Draft.
Don’t believe me? Just take a look at all the players who are 25 or younger that have a legitimate shot to become stars in 2020 — and if not next season, perhaps a little further down the road.
When looking at this list, one thing is very clear: the future is bright for the Titans.
A.J. Brown (22)
Brown is on the precipice of becoming a superstar player in the NFL if he can keep his late 2019 production up for an entire 16-game slate.
The Ole Miss product was up-and-down during the first six weeks of his rookie campaign, but really exploded once Ryan Tannehill took over the starting job in Week 7.
From that point on, Brown totaled 778 of his 1,051 yards, four of his five 100-yard games, and seven of his nine total touchdowns.
Pro Football Focus had him graded as the third-best receiver in the entire NFL in that span, and there’s no question he should have finished higher than third in the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year voting.
Now that Tannehill is entrenched as the starter for a full season, there’s reason to believe that Brown can put up ridiculous numbers and be among the league leaders in receiving yards in 2020, which would certainly solidify him as a star in this league.
Adoree’ Jackson (24)
When Jackson wasn’t on the field for the five games he missed during the 2019 regular season, the difference in the Titans’ secondary was noticeable.
When he was on the field, Jackson was able to stabilize and improve things, and his coverage was key to the Titans’ two playoff wins in which he totaled five passes defensed.
In PFF’s cornerback rankings for the 2019 regular season, Jackson finished at No. 15, and the outlet also listed him as one of the top 25 players under 25 going into 2020.
Is this the season that Jackson truly emerges as the elite corner we all think he can be? He certainly showed he is almost there last season, and another impressive campaign like 2019 will put him in the star category.
Jeffery Simmons (22)
Despite getting a late start to his rookie season due to having to rehab from a torn ACL, Simmons made an immediate impact on the Titans’ defense. He proved to be a disrupter upfront and added the perfect level of nasty the defensive line needed.
In a recent Zoom call with the media, Simmons made it clear he’s capable of being even better in his sophomore season and there’s things he could have done better that had nothing to do with his knee. He also feels he’ll be more comfortable once he can drop the extra weight he played with in 2019.
With a full offseason and no knee brace to hamper him, Simmons should be even more of a force for the Titans in 2020, which would only further serve to show the Titans got a steal in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
Jonnu Smith (24)
After Delanie Walker was placed on Injured Reserve in 2019, ending his season, Smith stepped up in a big way for the Titans and finished with career-highs in catches (35), receiving yards (439) and touchdowns (3).
The Florida International product is arguably one of the best athletes at the position in the NFL and showed he was absolutely explosive with the ball in his hands, as he totaled nine plays of 20 yards or more (one run) and finished with 12.5 yards per reception, the seventh-best mark among tight ends.
When it was time to perform on the national stage, Smith answered the bell with a huge one-handed, one-cheek sneak touchdown catch against the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional Round. He also added three catches for 38 yards in the AFC Championship loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
During the quarantine, Smith has been putting in extra work with Tannehill, which will go a long way to improving the chemistry between the two.
Now that Walker is no longer on the team, Smith is going to get a full season of snaps as the No. 1 tight end, and with extra motivation in a contract year, the former third-round pick could have a truly elite season for the position.
Jayon Brown (25)
Brown is already one of the better all-around inside linebackers in the game, but I’m not sure he really gets the credit he deserves from the national media.
Since 2018, Brown’s PFF coverage grade ranks fifth, and he finished second on the team in tackles in 2018 despite making just nine starts, and third in 2019, despite missing two games and playing hurt in others.
When he wasn’t on the field, the drop-off in coverage over the middle of the field was noticeable.
In a contract year, Brown is going to be playing with extra motivation, and as long as he gets a full, healthy season in, the former fifth-round pick could challenge for the league lead in tackles. Year 4 is the one in which Brown cements himself as an elite all-around linebacker in the NFL.
Rashaan Evans (24)
Along with Brown, Evans makes up one half of arguably the best young duo of inside linebackers in the NFL today. In 2019, Evans finished second on the Titans in tackles with 111, coming up just two short of Logan Ryan.
Not only did Evans also add 2.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss, he also recovered a fumble and returned it for a touchdown in the big Week 10 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, and he was key to the Titans making some huge goal-line stops throughout the course of the season.
Evans’ nose for the ball and ever-improving awareness — particularly against the run — could help launch him to a different level of notoriety in his third season.
Harold Landry (23)
With everyone expecting Landry to take a step forward in his second season, the Boston College product did just that. The former second-round pick finished with a career-best nine sacks.
The only issue for Landry is that his production faded at the end of the season, as he didn’t notch a single sack in any of the team’s last four regular season games.
That drop in production coincided with the season-ending injury to Cameron Wake, who was the only edge rusher that could truly take pressure off Landry.
The Titans have tried to remedy that situation by adding Vic Beasley this offseason, and a possible addition of Jadeveon Clowney will only open things up more for Landry.
With Clowney or not, Landry should be getting a bit less attention in 2020, which should lead to even better sack numbers that could have him threatening to lead the league in his third season.
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