The Tennessee Titans own the No. 29 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, so we thought it would be interesting to take a look back at every pick teams have made in that spot over the past 10 years.
Long story short: there isn’t much to be excited about in looking at the history, as there has only been one real home run in this group, with a few “meh” picks, and then some bad ones.
2010: Jets – CB Kyle Wilson
Wilson spent five seasons with the New York Jets from 2010 to 2014, but was only a full-time starter in one of them. His last season in the NFL came in 2015 with the New Orleans Saints, where he made four starts.
2011: Bears – OT Gabe Carimi
Carimi’s tenure with the Chicago Bears was short, as he spent just two seasons with the team and played in just 18 games (16 starts). He played two more seasons, one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the other with the Atlanta Falcons, before being out of the league by 2015.
2012: Vikings – DB Harrison Smith
Smith is easily the most successful of the bunch when it comes to No. 29 overall picks since 2010. The safety has spent eight seasons in the NFL, all with the Minnesota Vikings, and has made it to the Pro Bowl in each of the past five seasons. He was a First-Team All-Pro in 2017.
2013: Vikings – WR Cordarrelle Patterson
Patterson spent the first four seasons of his career with the Vikings, making two Pro Bowls and being named a First-Team All-Pro as a returner twice. He never amounted to much as a receiver, though.
He spent the 2019 season with the Bears, where he once again got the nod as a Pro Bowler and First-Team All-Pro as a returner. He has also spent time with the Oakland Raiders and New England Patriots. Patterson has found value in the NFL as a jack-of-all-trades kind of player.
2014: Patriots – DT Dominique Easley
Easley didn’t make it past two seasons with the Patriots, playing in just 22 games (three starts). He was signed by the Rams in 2016 and played in 19 games with the team (three starts), but his 2017 and 2018 campaigns both ended with him being placed on Injured Reserve.
2015: Colts – WR Phillip Dorsett
Titans fans know Dorsett well, as he spent the first two seasons of his NFL career with the Indianapolis Colts. However, he hasn’t produced like a team would hope a No. 29 overall pick would, as his best season saw him finish with 528 yards and two scores. He rebounded a bit in 2019 with the Patriots after totaling 397 yards and five touchdowns.
2016: Cardinals – DT Robert Nkemdiche
Nkemdiche’s career has been marred by off-the-field issues since the Arizona Cardinals selected him in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He spent just three seasons with Arizona before being waived in 2019, one year after totaling a career-high 4.5 sacks in 2018. He was signed by the Miami Dolphins in 2019 but played in only two games.
2017: Browns – TE David Njoku
There’s no question that Njoku has shown promise with the Cleveland Browns, with his best season coming in 2018 when he finished with a career-high 639 yards and four touchdowns. Njoku took a step back in 2019, though, as a wrist injury limited him to just four games.
2018: Jaguars – DT Taven Bryan
Bryan has played in all 32 games since being drafted by the Jaguars in 2018 and has been slowly making his way to becoming a full-time starter. After starting just one game in his rookie campaign, Bryan saw eight starts in 2019, totaling a career-high two sacks and 33 combined tackles. There is hope for him yet.
2019: Seahawks – DE L.J. Collier
The Seattle Seahawks acquired the pick that ended up being Collier in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs that involved Frank Clark. Collier played sparingly in his first season, appearing in 11 games (no starts). The jury is still very much out on him.
