Madmike90 Posted March 19, 2023 Author Share Posted March 19, 2023 The more I watch of DeMarcus Walker and the way the Titans rush the passer the more I think there is a real opportunity to find value later in the draft with these guys and even in FA...I have posted this before but the Titans this season didn't have Harold Landry or Bud Dupree this year...this was their DLs... DE DeMarcus Walker - 6-4" 280lbs (2nd round) DE Mario Edwards Jr - 6-3" 280lbs (3rd round) DE Denico Autry - 6-5" 285lbs (UDFA) DE Rashad Weaver - 6-4" 260lbs (4th round) DT Jeffery Simmons 6-4" 305lbs (1st round) DT Teair Tart 6-3" 305lbs (UDFA) DT Kevin Strong 6-4" 295lbs (UDFA) DT Naquan Jones 6-3" 313lbs (UDFA) The Titans had 39 sacks last season...which was 17th in the league... However they has 156 QB pressures...that was good for 6th in the league...they only blitzed on 18.1% of their defensive snaps... To put that into comparison we blitz on 18.2% of our defensive snaps and had 85 QB pressures...dead last in the league... Everyone loves watching a speed rusher win clean off the snap and getting to the QB but those guys are expensive and usually hard to find...the Titans have made an art form of taking guys who have been UDFA or even former busts like Edwards Jr & Walker and turning them into productive players...the key is not always sacking a QB or even winning clean but with guys as big as they have sometimes just muddying the pocket is enough to cause chaos and when I was them rush the QB that is exactly what they do...everything is about taking the OL back into the QBs lap...force him off the spot and containing where he can escape or step up in the pocket...knocking off the timing of his throws is all impacts a QBs play... We all know about Wilson or Van Ness early but some of the guys I like later if we want to go to this style of having big quality DL across all 4 starting spots... Isaiah McGuire - 6-4" 268lbs - Missouri...probably the most underrated edge in the class. Colby Wooden - 6-4" 273lbs - Auburn DJ Johnson - 6-4" 260lbs - Oregon Dylan Horton - 6-4" 260lbs - TCU Brevin Allen - 6-4" 263lbs - Campbell These guys all might lack the raw speed to be drafted high but they are all really physical, tough rusher who are handfuls for opposing OTs and they all could offer some value dropping inside and rushing on passing downs where we can try and find some undersized 3rd down speed rushers or use Dominique Robinson in the way he should have been last season...their size would instantly help against the run as well...given the needs we have building an DL in that physical Tennessee mold would make a ton of sense IMO. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugashane Posted March 19, 2023 Share Posted March 19, 2023 3 hours ago, Ty21 said: One thing I’m disappointed about in signing D’Onta Foreman: it eliminates the possibility of getting Roschon Johnson, who I figure is Foreman’s closest comparison. Johnson not only misses tackles and is hard to bring down, his footwork is beautiful too. Doesn’t have speed but he has good patience in letting blocks happen. I don't see why it would, Foreman was only signed to a 1 year deal. If Poles thinks Johnson is a potential stud he should 100% snag him. At the worst he competes and pushes Herbert and Foreman. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beardown3231 Posted March 19, 2023 Share Posted March 19, 2023 1 hour ago, Madmike90 said: The more I watch of DeMarcus Walker and the way the Titans rush the passer the more I think there is a real opportunity to find value later in the draft with these guys and even in FA...I have posted this before but the Titans this season didn't have Harold Landry or Bud Dupree this year...this was their DLs... DE DeMarcus Walker - 6-4" 280lbs (2nd round) DE Mario Edwards Jr - 6-3" 280lbs (3rd round) DE Denico Autry - 6-5" 285lbs (UDFA) DE Rashad Weaver - 6-4" 260lbs (4th round) DT Jeffery Simmons 6-4" 305lbs (1st round) DT Teair Tart 6-3" 305lbs (UDFA) DT Kevin Strong 6-4" 295lbs (UDFA) DT Naquan Jones 6-3" 313lbs (UDFA) The Titans had 39 sacks last season...which was 17th in the league... However they has 156 QB pressures...that was good for 6th in the league...they only blitzed on 18.1% of their defensive snaps... To put that into comparison we blitz on 18.2% of our defensive snaps and had 85 QB pressures...dead last in the league... Everyone loves watching a speed rusher win clean off the snap and getting to the QB but those guys are expensive and usually hard to find...the Titans have made an art form of taking guys who have been UDFA or even former busts like Edwards Jr & Walker and turning them into productive players...the key is not always sacking a QB or even winning clean but with guys as big as they have sometimes just muddying the pocket is enough to cause chaos and when I was them rush the QB that is exactly what they do...everything is about taking the OL back into the QBs lap...force him off the spot and containing where he can escape or step up in the pocket...knocking off the timing of his throws is all impacts a QBs play... We all know about Wilson or Van Ness early but some of the guys I like later if we want to go to this style of having big quality DL across all 4 starting spots... Isaiah McGuire - 6-4" 268lbs - Missouri...probably the most underrated edge in the class. Colby Wooden - 6-4" 273lbs - Auburn DJ Johnson - 6-4" 260lbs - Oregon Dylan Horton - 6-4" 260lbs - TCU Brevin Allen - 6-4" 263lbs - Campbell These guys all might lack the raw speed to be drafted high but they are all really physical, tough rusher who are handfuls for opposing OTs and they all could offer some value dropping inside and rushing on passing downs where we can try and find some undersized 3rd down speed rushers or use Dominique Robinson in the way he should have been last season...their size would instantly help against the run as well...given the needs we have building an DL in that physical Tennessee mold would make a ton of sense IMO. Isaiah McGuire is going to be a solid pro for sure My concern for Walker is his best year came in a contract year playing next to a top 3 DT in the league. How does that translate here playing next to bums? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beardown3231 Posted March 19, 2023 Share Posted March 19, 2023 15 minutes ago, Sugashane said: I don't see why it would, Foreman was only signed to a 1 year deal. If Poles thinks Johnson is a potential stud he should 100% snag him. At the worst he competes and pushes Herbert and Foreman. Poles seems high on Homer & Foreman is a good player as is Herbert. I don't see them carrying 4 RB's and any of those guys would get snatched up on waivers instantly I'd assume. Maybe they take one late if they can play ST though 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madmike90 Posted March 19, 2023 Author Share Posted March 19, 2023 4 minutes ago, beardown3231 said: Isaiah McGuire is going to be a solid pro for sure My concern for Walker is his best year came in a contract year playing next to a top 3 DT in the league. How does that translate here playing next to bums? I think the playing next to Simmons stuff is over blown…not every play Walker made was freed up from Simmons…at times he wasn’t even on the field…I just feel Walker and the rest of that DL worked as a unit way more than we say last year…he’ll even Corey Wootton called up the lack of unity up front and that everyone was only working as an individual…we badly need to get away from that this year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dll2000 Posted March 20, 2023 Share Posted March 20, 2023 On 3/18/2023 at 8:16 AM, Madmike90 said: Good to see them bring in Stromberg for a visit…if they see Whitehair as a potential centre and are still high on Patrick then a starting centre is probably off the cards…Stromberg would be the perfect mid-rounder to take over at some point so get us much younger and cheaper. Remember there often are a number of guys they really want that aren’t on visit list and a number on list they don’t want at all. Part of draft game. Some years you take all guys from list. You don’t want to be overly predictable so you have to do random pattern breakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ty21 Posted March 20, 2023 Share Posted March 20, 2023 45 minutes ago, dll2000 said: Remember there often are a number of guys they really want that aren’t on visit list and a number on list they don’t want at all. Part of draft game. Some years you take all guys from list. You don’t want to be overly predictable so you have to do random pattern breakers. Drafting is a weird psychological game Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugashane Posted March 20, 2023 Share Posted March 20, 2023 14 hours ago, beardown3231 said: Poles seems high on Homer & Foreman is a good player as is Herbert. I don't see them carrying 4 RB's and any of those guys would get snatched up on waivers instantly I'd assume. Maybe they take one late if they can play ST though That's fair. I would think he could put one of them on the active roster without dressing but if he is higher on Homer maybe he wants to give the trio a fair shot before deciding to make any moves there. But if he really is going to go BPA neither Foreman nor Homer should be people who dissuade him IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dll2000 Posted March 20, 2023 Share Posted March 20, 2023 52 minutes ago, Ty21 said: Drafting is a weird psychological game You have to do that too in high level tournament poker. Just bet in a weird random way every once in awhile. They are all masters at spotting patterns. You cannot win if you are overly predictable in your betting patterns. In NFL you have ability to have entire teams of people working on it rather than being solo at a table. Knowing who other teams are likely to take is a huge advantage. Why the mock draft simulators are anything but a true simulation. Why I can get most all guys I want every time in any of programs. When you can see big board the program is working off (even though they randomize it a bit) it is a giant advantage. But you still know from big board whether a guy is going in 3rd or 4th versus 1st or 2nd. In real life sometimes guys you expect to go in 3rd go in 1st and vice versa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malagabears Posted March 20, 2023 Share Posted March 20, 2023 One thing to remember, Poles as a former lineman maybe be looking to find the next diamond in the rough as far as the Oline is concerned. He might even think with his analytics team he can hit gold looking for a RT on day 3 like Jones. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beardown3231 Posted March 20, 2023 Share Posted March 20, 2023 4 hours ago, malagabears said: One thing to remember, Poles as a former lineman maybe be looking to find the next diamond in the rough as far as the Oline is concerned. He might even think with his analytics team he can hit gold looking for a RT on day 3 like Jones. At some point though you have to address OL early or in free agency. I wouldn't say we can confidently say Jones is "gold" yet but even if you want to disagree, drafting guys that late and turning them into quality NFL is just luck. No GM does that consistently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superman(DH23) Posted March 20, 2023 Share Posted March 20, 2023 30 minutes ago, beardown3231 said: At some point though you have to address OL early or in free agency. I wouldn't say we can confidently say Jones is "gold" yet but even if you want to disagree, drafting guys that late and turning them into quality NFL is just luck. No GM does that consistently. You have a competent NFL starter at LT at minimum, that's gold. Now if he is what they think he is and a franchise cornerstone LT, that's rare earth material. But as a GM you can't hang your hat on that, if you knew that's what he was you would have taken him much sooner than the 5th. But that's something to take note of, Poles is definitely a traits guy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malagabears Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 (edited) 14 hours ago, beardown3231 said: At some point though you have to address OL early or in free agency. I wouldn't say we can confidently say Jones is "gold" yet but even if you want to disagree, drafting guys that late and turning them into quality NFL is just luck. No GM does that consistently. I agree, I wouldn't hang my hat on finding a good LT (not franchise altering yet) in Jones. The skills drafted in the 1st 2 rounds are just that, Superior to day 3 talents. Now there are plenty of exceptions where blue chip talents slide to day 3 but that is the exception, not the norm. Edited March 21, 2023 by malagabears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beardown3231 Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 12 hours ago, Superman(DH23) said: You have a competent NFL starter at LT at minimum, that's gold. Now if he is what they think he is and a franchise cornerstone LT, that's rare earth material. But as a GM you can't hang your hat on that, if you knew that's what he was you would have taken him much sooner than the 5th. But that's something to take note of, Poles is definitely a traits guy. For sure. Jones was my favorite pick last year. IIRC I even mocked him in the 6th. I knew this regime would love athleticism and so I paid close attention to Bruce Feldman's top 50 freaks list which Jones was on. You're right. *IF* he is competent, it's gold, but I don't think we can determine that yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugashane Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 33 minutes ago, beardown3231 said: For sure. Jones was my favorite pick last year. IIRC I even mocked him in the 6th. I knew this regime would love athleticism and so I paid close attention to Bruce Feldman's top 50 freaks list which Jones was on. You're right. *IF* he is competent, it's gold, but I don't think we can determine that yet. I think some skepticism should be warranted too. Borom looked like he was going to do well after having a pretty good rookie year. Had some lower lows than Jones did but also he had his best game (at least IMO) against Bosa and a bad*** defense in the 49ers. He went from looking like a potential fixture on the OL to being a swing tackle option in less than a year. I hope Jones keeps ascending and he has the plus athleticism aid him that Borom does not, but at minimum he needs to have a solid depth piece pushing him. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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