NASHVILLE – The second part of the third-round picks for the Tennessee Titans stole the spotlight during the NFL draft.
This will happen any time a team chooses a midfielder on day one or two, especially when that team has question marks in the center in the not too distant future.
But drafting Liberty League quarterback, Malik Willis – with all his promising skills and potential – certainly doesn’t mean Willis will be the rising player likely to make an impact on the Titans this season.
In fact, it is very likely that it will have little impact in 2022.
So, which rookie titans should expect to make things happen right away?
Here’s a very early “starter impact rating” for the nine players the team picked last month:
1. WR Treylon Burks (First round, No. 18): That’s not Birx’s fault, but it goes straight into a lot of expectations this season. When the Titans replaced Pro Bowl receiver AJ Brown for Philadelphia and drafted the Burks the next moment, the former Arkansas star immediately became Brown’s replacement. Not only has Burks instantaneously filled a gaping hole in the receiver, but his playing style has also been compared to Brown’s by many draft analysts. Will the 6-foot-2, 225-pound Burkes, who struggled with breathing/conditioning issues on day one or a junior camper, be able to contribute as a rookie like Brown — who had 52 catches for 1,051 yards (average 20.2 yards) And eight touchdowns in his first season? That remained to be a sight. But the Titans need Pyrex to make a significant impact, especially given the health and experience question marks elsewhere in the receiver’s position.
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2. CB Roger McCreary (Second round, 35th place): It wasn’t necessarily a surprise to see the Titans pick a back for this draft. But the fact that the team chose one this height This might seem an indication that the Giants will find a lot of use for McCreary as a beginner. We know Christian Fulton has the starting point in the corner, but what about the other one? Caleb Farley, the team’s pick in the first round of 2021, is definitely a factor in the picture. But let’s remember two things: First, we don’t know how well Farley has managed to bounce back from a tattered second AFC Champions League in his football career. Second, Farley has played a total of 60 football shots over the past two years – due to injury and because he missed his last season in college due to COVID concerns. During those two seasons, McCreary started 22 games for Auburn, with a total of five interceptions and 20 defensive passes.
3. WR Kyle Philips (Fifth Round, No. 163): I could totally make that estimate based too much on what I saw over the weekend, which was just beginners vying against newbies. However, Philips – especially on Friday – stood out because he was able to open up, and because he had some very cool moments. The Philips roof is somewhat limited as a slot receiver, but could be very valuable as a chain drive—the kind of guy who likes a quarterback because they know how to gain seven, eight or nine yards when it’s absolutely necessary. It doesn’t hurt that Phillips had 10 touchdown passes in his final year at UCLA, on average once every 5.9 times. Plus, Philips will likely have every chance of winning the team role—having returned 26 balls in UCLA for 501 yards (average 19.3 yards) and two touchdowns.
4. T Nicholas Petty Freer (Third round, No. 69): I go back and forth on this Betty Freer effect guessing. One school of thought makes him a right plug and play rookie, and if so, Petit-Frere will be a huge difference maker in the rookie season. But the Titans haven’t had a first-week rookie start on the offensive line since 2016, when Jack Conklin – eighth overall pick that year – promptly hit the right tackle. Petit-Frere doesn’t seem to be as well-known as Conklin’s, with nearly every exploratory report suggesting there was a fair amount of work needed on Petit-Frere before it reached its full potential. He might end up in a similar situation to that of goalkeeper Nate Davis, who never played in his first three games as a rookie in 2018, saw some action in week four, then became the starter in week five. To ask another question, if Petit-Frere isn’t the first week novice in the right intervention, who is? Do the Titans have faith Dillon Radones is that guy?
5. T.E. Chige Okonkwo (Fourth round, 143rd overall): This is the word that will likely determine how much Okonkwo plays as a beginner: ban. It’s not considered a force for a lighter, faster guy like the Okonkwo 6-3, 238-pound at this point. But he has to at least show that he can hold his own when asked – or Okonkwo won’t see as much of the field as he pleases. Assuming Okonkwo displays the ability to block – and contribute to special teams – the Giants should be able to find ways to use it in a scrolling game. He’s a challenger in the game because of his speed, and it was Okonkwo’s last season in Maryland sooo So much better than his first two that it might be an indication that he’s just starting to realize his full potential.
6 – Rip Hassan Haskins (Fourth round, 131st place overall): We know Haskins is likely to be an early contributor to the Specials, but how much of a role he gets in the early attack will depend largely on Derek Henry’s standing. If Henry returns to the state of Return of the Monsters in 2022, Haskins’ role will be limited to giving Henry a streak of relief now and then. But is it realistic to believe that 28-year-old Henry – whose average campaign count was 341 in 2019 and 2020 – will face the same kind of workload in 2022, especially after suffering his first major injury in his career? If the Titans decide to scale back Henry’s use this year, Haskins may prove to be an effective hammer—a hammer that fits snugly into Tennessee’s blocking schemes.
7. QB Malek Willis (Third round, 86th place): That projection may change after we see what Willis can do in training camp. But from the moment the Titans drafted Willis, the prevailing school of thought has been that Ryan Tanehill will still be the starting quarterback in 2022 – and Tanehill has proven to be very durable. Willis is a little project, great arm, great mobility and lots of positives. Is it possible for the Titans to find a way to play Willis in some different attack packs as a novice, using his blasting ability and playability? Not doing so appears to be a real missed opportunity. But would the Titans be willing to wear three quarterbacks on game days – something they have rarely done in recent years? This might be the only way Willis sees the field as a novice, based on Titans senior author/editor Jim White In the mailbag’s answer Earlier this week:Sitting here writing this in mid-May, I think Logan Woodside will be #2, with the third owner being QB and probably inactive on game days. Can Malik do enough in the next three or four months to convince his superiors that he can be trusted, ready, to be second as a rookie? OK we will see “.
8. DB Theo Jackson (Sixth Round, No. 204): When it comes to subsequent selections, consideration must be given to the possibility of not making up the initial 53-man roster. However, Jackson appears to have a similar kit as the former Safety Titans’ former Dane Cruikshank, who eventually played an important role for himself – playing 414 defensive shots and 234 snapshots for the specials team last season. Jackson has the volume needed to cover the narrow ends; demonstrated an ability at the University of Tennessee last season to deliver big plays at or behind the line of scrimmage; He seemed to be quickly picking up the schemes of the Titans in the junior junior camp.
9. ILP Chance Campbell (Sixth Round, 219th overall): Campbell’s chance of making the 53-player roster will depend in large part on how well he performs on special teams, as is usually the case with the reserve full-back. But Campbell must also show that he will be able to take on a more defensive role, if anything happens to the likes of Zach Cunningham, David Long or Monty Rice. Two things he loves about Campbell: He showed a good ability to get off blocks and influences last season at the Ole Miss, and he also seems to be the type to make sure that his seven fellow defenders are in the right places before. The ball has been cut.
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