Tennessee Titans 2014 draft recap

The Tennessee Titans lost key players on both sides of the ball so far this off-season.

Chris Johnson was picked up by the New York Jets after being released by Tennessee. David “Big Country” Stewart was released as well, and Alterraun Verner picked up an offer from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Titans new picks in the 2014 NFL draft gave themselves a shot at replacing those key players.

In the first round, pick 11 overall, the Titans selected Taylor Lewan, an offensive tackle from Michigan. While Tennessee did release Stewart, they also signed Michael Oher from Baltimore to play in Stewart’s spot.

Lewan may not be starting in his first year with Tennessee, but he may make an impact in the future. He is known for his physicality, athleticism and quick feet, as he ran a 4.79 second 40-yard dash time at the combine, the fastest time of all offensive lineman.

The Titans tried to replace running back Chris Johnson in the second round by drafting the first back of the draft, Bishop Sankey from Washington at number 54 overall.

While he is undersized, Sankey is a great running back with good vision and good hands. He’s a player with great football IQ and can do more than one thing on the field. He put up great numbers in Washington and will be a good contributor in the Titans’ offense.

The Titans’ next pick was in the fourth round where they selected DaQuan Jones, a defensive tackle from Penn state at number 112 overall. Jones has a big body and has displayed at Penn State that he can fight in trenches at the next level. While he has no chance of threatening on the edges, he could be an interior force for the Titans in their new 3-4 scheme.

The Titans had another pick in the fourth round 10 selections after Jones, and they chose to take a defensive back, Marqueston Huff from Wyoming. Huff has decent size at 5-feet 11-inches and just under 200 pounds. He is a versatile defensive back, and the Titans will experiment with him at corner and safety. He will be a good special teams player, and he could develop into a good safety or corner for the Titans in the future.

In the fifth round, the Titans selected Avery Williamson, an inside linebacker from Kentucky at pick number 151 overall. Williamson is a great tackler who grew up in Tennessee and has a chance to be successful in the Titans’ new defense. He has good size and is a good run stopper, but he does have problems on the perimeter and in coverage.

The Titans finished up the draft by drafting quarterback Zach Mettenberger from LSU in the sixth round at pick 178 overall. This quarterback has great size at 6-feet 5-inches and showed in college that he has great arm strength. He is a pure drop back quarterback, but he may have health concerns as he is coming off ACL surgery and has had a bad back for the last few years. The Titans are taking a chance with him because he may have potential.

Edited by Maggie Jones