Robinson Breaks Down Draft Depth at Key Position Groups
Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson gave an overview of how he sees the 2021 NFL Draft in terms of position groups this week, particularly at areas of need for his team.
Here is a full rundown of he said about offensive line, cornerbacks, edge rushers and tight ends:
• Offensive line is deeper than defensive line: “I think the offensive line group probably has a little bit more depth top to bottom maybe than the D-line group. There are some good players in the defensive line group, but I feel like the volume, the supply of players that’s in that offensive line group, maybe a little bit deeper than the defensive line group.”
Potential offensive line prospects: Christian Darrisaw (tackle, Virginia Tech), Teven Jenkins (tackle, Oklahoma State), Liam Eichenberg (tackle, Notre Dame), Samuel Cosmi (tackle, Texas), Jalen Mayfield (tackle, Michigan), Quinn Meinerz (guard, Wisconsin-Whitewater), Kendrick Green (guard, Illinois), David Moore (guard, Grambling State)
Titans Draft Board: Offensive tackle
• Cornerbacks are somewhat top heavy: “I think the corner group, there’s some good players at the top and kind of in the middle, and in the back you’re kind of drafting some traits. There’s some guys that are really fast at the back end, there’s some guys that are really good tacklers. It’s kind of, ‘What do you want for your football team? To what degree can they play in the kicking game?’ It’s important for that position. I think both position groups have pretty good volume. The receivers are maybe a little more evenly spread, let’s say value-wise maybe more so than the corners.”
Potential cornerback prospects: Greg Newsome II (Northwester), Caleb Farley (Virginia Tech), Tyson Campbell (Georgia), Eric Stokes (Georgia)
Titans Draft Board: Cornerbacks
• Edge rushers are available throughout: “I think that’s a good position group. I think there’s certainly some guys at the top and then there’s some guys kind of in the middle there that we like, that we think can be situation guys, and maybe grow into full-time, starting, end of the line of scrimmage guys. Then there’s some developmental guys that are going to be later on that we think have some upside as well. I think that’s a pretty good depth position as well.”
Potential prospects: Azeez Ojulari (Georgia), Jealan Phillips (Miami), Joseph Ossai (Texas), Carlos Basham Jr. (Wake Forest), Cameron Sample (Tulane)
Titans Draft Board: Edge rushers
• Tight ends need to add to their games: “I think that we evaluate the skillsets of the players and what can they do, and maybe some areas that they need to improve on. They’re going to have to block at some point, even the ‘receiving’ tight ends. At a minimum, if they can just get in the way long enough for the back to get by him, so they’re going to have to have some degree of blocking ability. Certainly, some of these players, and not just in this draft, in any draft, the strengths may be more receiving than blocking. We think there’s players in this draft that can do both. Some need to improve maybe in the blocking component, some need to improve in the receiving component. I wouldn’t say we err one way or another because I think you can’t just pigeonhole yourself into, ‘This guy is a blocking tight end,’ because then sometimes they’re going to sub out defensively and stack the box. There’s got to be somewhat of a receiving component at the tight end position.”
Potential prospects: Pat Freiermuth (Penn State), Hunter Long (Boston College), Tommy Tremble (Notre Dame), Brevin Jordan (Miami)
Titans Draft Board: Tight ends