Grading the AFC South's 2019 NFL Draft selections: Titans get an 'A' for outstanding draft
Now that the 2019 NFL Draft has passed and rookie minicamps are beginning to start, many experts and analysts have been handing out their draft grades for each respective division. Of course, we'll never truly know how these players perform until they take center stage in September, once the regular season begins. Here are my personal draft grades for the AFC South.
#1 Tennessee Titans: A
Round 1: (No. 19 overall) Jeffery Simmons, DT, Mississippi State
Round 2: (51) A.J. Brown, WR, Mississippi
Round 3: (82) Nate Davis, OG, North Carolina-Charlotte
Round 4: (116) Amani Hooker, S, Iowa
Round 5: (168) D'Andre Walker, OLB, Georgia
Round 6: (188) David Long, LB, West Virginia
Analysis:
Enough can't be said about the job that GM Jon Robinson and others did during this draft. Jeffery Simmons would've been long gone, had it not been for an ACL tear several months prior to the draft. If he gets back to being fully healthy, the Titans could have one of the more dominant front sevens in the entire league come 2020.
A.J. Brown is going to be a great complement to Corey Davis. Nate Davis is a unique prospect that has the ability to help stabilize and bring great physicality to a Titans' offensive line in 2019.
Don't sleep on Amani Hooker, who many believe to be a ball-hawking safety waiting for the right opportunity to strike! Meanwhile, D'Andre Walker and David Long add great depth and speed to a very underrated line-backing corps. If all goes well, this draft could easily be a home run for Tennessee!
#2 Jacksonville Jaguars: A-
Round 1: (No. 7 overall) Josh Allen, OLB, Kentucky
Round 2: (35) Jawaan Taylor, OT, Florida
Round 3: (69) Josh Oliver, TE, San Jose State; (98) Quincy Williams, LB, Murray State
Round 5: (140) Ryquell Armstead, RB, Temple
Round 6: (178) Gardner Minshew, QB, Washington State
Round 7: (235) Dontavious Russell, DT, Auburn
Analysis:
Jacksonville and their fans in Duval County couldn't have asked for a better start to this draft. Not very often does a top-tier pass rusher like Josh Allen just land in your lap at #7, when most experts didn't expect him to get past the Oakland Raiders at #4.
If that wasn't good enough, how about getting what many considered to be the best offensive tackle in this year's draft, in Florida's Jawaan Taylor, early in the second round? That solves their issue at right tackle. Josh Oliver will help fill a void and be a key contributor at tight end, while Ryquell Armstead should help take some of the load off third-year running back Leonard Fournette.
Gardner Minshew could turn out to be an adequate backup for Nick Foles. I mean, anyone's better than Blake Bortles, right? Too harsh? Yeah, I didn't think so, either. Anyway, Dontavious Russell could very well be in the front-running for one of the starting defensive tackle positions, especially with the departure of Malik Jackson during the offseason. Well done, Jacksonville! This could turn out to be one of your best drafts in years.