Second-Round Pick Aims to Erase 2020 First-Round Flub

Dillon Radunz will compete to be the starter at right tackle, which was supposed to be Isaiah Wilson's job.

The Tennessee Titans did not move immediately to correct their 2020 draft mishap, but they did not wait long.

The Titans selected North Dakota State tackle Dillon Radunz with their second-round pick (No. 53 overall) in the 2021 NFL Draft on Friday. In so doing, they filled a need created by the fact that Isaiah Wilson, their first-round pick a year ago, is no longer on the roster after a disastrous rookie campaign that included numerous off-the-field missteps.

“Yes, I am familiar with what happened [with Wilson],” Radunz said. “Very unfortunate circumstances.”

It actually worked out all right for Radunz, who will have a chance to compete to be the Titans’ starter at right tackle this fall.

The 6-foot-4, 301-pounder was a two-year starter at left tackle for the one of the country’s elite FCS programs. He was an All-American as a junior in 2019 and an all-conference performer the season prior to that.

North Dakota State played just one game in 2020 before its season was paused and moved to the spring. The only other game action Radunz has had, therefore, was at the Senior Bowl. There, he either improved his draft stock or affirmed what personnel people already liked about him. He was one of that week’s top performers.

“Thank goodness I had the Senior Bowl to help me stay in football shape,” he said. “You can always condition. You can always lift weight [and] stuff like that, but there’s something different about hitting guys.”

Some draft analysts say Radunz might be better suited to play guard in the NFL. That would not be the worst thing given that the Titans’ current left guard, Rodger Saffold, will be 33 years old when the 2021 season starts and won’t be able to play forever.

Radunz, though, does not claim to be the most patient guy. Plus, he already has worked to play the right side in pre-draft training with former NFL tackle Joe Staley.

“[I will be] just putting my nose to the grindstone, grinding it out and getting ready for this upcoming season,” he said. “I’m definitely going to want to be thrown into that starting five. That’s just the competitor in me.”

The Titans hope it will be enough to allow them to put Wilson and the plans they had for him squarely in the past.