If the Tennessee Titans don’t trade out of the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, general manager Jon Robinson will have plenty of intriguing prospects to choose from at No. 29 overall.
Here are some of the top targets at the team’s biggest positions of need that the Titans’ GM will likely be keeping an eye out for at the end of the first round on Thursday night.
Kristian Fulton | CB | LSU
The Titans need to address the cornerback position in this year’s draft, and doing so early on could net the team a starter for years to come.
If we’re talking the best of the bunch of corners that could be around at No. 29, Fulton is one of them, although I tend to believe he’ll be gone before then.
The LSU product can play slot corner for the Titans in 2020 and then transition to a full-time starter on the outside in 2021 if Tennessee decides to let Malcolm Butler go.
Jeff Gladney | CB | TCU
Gladney has become the trendy pick for the Titans by fans and experts, and I think he’s a more realistic one than Fulton because he’ll likely be there at the end of the first round.
Like Fulton, Gladney can play the slot, but he’ll eventually be a starter on the outside. The former Horned Frog is a physical corner who can impact the Titans’ defense from day one.
Marlon Davidson | DL/EDGE | Auburn
The Titans have yet to address the defensive end position after trading Jurrell Casey, and there is a possibility that DaQuan Jones, who is a free agent in 2021, may not return beyond this season.
Davidson, whose motor might be unmatched, offers plenty of versatility, as the 300-pound defender projects to be a defensive lineman in the NFL but also played as a stand-up outside linebacker at Auburn. This athletic freak would check multiple boxes for the Titans.
Isaiah Wilson | OT | Georgia
If the Titans want to address the right tackle position with their first pick, Wilson will likely be the best player available at the position in this spot.
Wilson has been trending upward of late and has worked his way from the second round of many expert mocks to the first round.
The Georgia product’s athleticism is a great match for the Titans’ zone-blocking scheme (he took snaps as a wildcat QB in high school), and he has shown plenty of proof that he can be dominant in both run blocking and pass protection.
Josh Jones | OT | Houston
Like Wilson, Jones has been steadily moving up draft boards of late, with some mocks projecting him to go as high as the teens to early 20’s because of the high demand for quality offensive tackles.
I’d suspect either he or Wilson will be available at No. 29, though, and if the Titans want to take advantage of a somewhat deep tackle class this year, Jones would be a solid bet at No. 29.
Athleticism is important for a tackle in the Titans’ scheme, and Jones has that in spades. He’ll need to be developed to get to his full potential, but the Titans have time to do that with Dennis Kelly set to start at right tackle in 2020.
Yetur Gross-Matos | EDGE | Penn State
If the Titans don’t plan on signing Jadeveon Clowney, they might be in the market for a pass-rusher in the first round.
It remains to be seen if Gross-Matos will drop this far, but if he does there’s no doubt the Titans should take him. His ability as a pass-rusher and run defender make him arguably one of the best EDGE defenders in this draft.
Gross-Matos may not be an impact pass-rusher from the jump, but he’ll have time to develop with Vic Beasley and Harold Landry set to take most of the snaps at EDGE in 2020.
