It’s an annual tradition to pick apart an NFL team’s draft class — searching for the good and the bad — well before players ever set foot on a practice field.
That process figures to last even longer this year, since no one’s sure when we’ll actually be able to evaluate the draft picks in rookie camp, OTAs or training camp.
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Until that happens, we’re left to pore over every interview, every clip, every scouting report and — of course — every remotely meaningful statistic.
It’s in that light that we’ve tried to find some key figures for each of the Titans’ six selections, which began with Georgia tackle Isaiah Wilson on Thursday and ended with Marshall safety Chris Jackson on Saturday.
Isaiah Wilson, OT, Georgia, first round (No. 29)
Notable number: 7.7
At 350 pounds, Wilson is 7.7 percent heavier than any other player on the Titans’ roster — 325-pound Rodger Saffold is next. Others who come (relatively) close include 322-pound Ben Jones and 321-pound Dennis Kelly. The good news is that by all accounts, the 6-foot-6 Wilson carries the weight well and doesn’t have a ton of body fat. He transformed his body while at Georgia after struggling with heat and humidity during his redshirt freshman season.
“This isn’t a player that has a high percentage of body fat for what his weight is, as crazy as that may sound,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said when asked if the team wanted Wilson to lose weight. “So, that’s not going to get answered today. We base most of those decisions on what guys look like and how they function on the field, and what we feel like is the best weight for them to do their job.”
Notable number: 8.26
Wilson completed the three-cone drill at the NFL Scouting Combine in 8.26 seconds, which put him toward the low end (11th percentile) of prospects measured in Indianapolis. Wilson trailed a number of the other top tackle prospects, such as Boise State’s Ezra Cleveland (7.26 seconds), Georgia teammate Andrew Thomas (7.58 seconds), Iowa’s Tristan Wirfs (7.65 seconds) and USC’s Austin Jackson (7.95 seconds). Is that cause for concern? It could be because the drill is used to measure an athlete’s ability to change directions at high speed. Unlike guards and centers, tackles such as Wilson have to show more dexterity and change-of-direction ability because they play in space against speedy edge rushers. On the bright side, Wilson is such a large, wide man that he probably doesn’t have to move very far to significantly alter the path of a charging defender.
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Kristian Fulton, CB, LSU, second round (No. 61)
Notable number: 66
Cornerback A.J. Buoye has knocked away 66 passes in his past six years as a pro. What does Buoye have to do with Fulton? Pro Football Focus’ NFL Player Comparison for Fulton is none other than Buoye, who is entering his eighth year in the league. He made the Pro Bowl in 2017. Fulton has already shown an impressive ability to get his hands on the football, as he knocked away a combined 25 passes over the past two seasons. That’s one of the reasons he had the third-highest forced incompletion rate in the country (29 percent), per Pro Football Focus.
Notable number: 2
Fulton recorded only two interceptions at LSU in 28 games over three seasons. It seems a little low, especially — as noted above — considering how often he was around the football. One reason, though, is that Fulton wasn’t thrown at very often last year, a sign of respect. Per PFF, opposing quarterbacks targeted him only 69 of the 537 times he was in coverage snaps. Vrabel offered another explanation, noting LSU often used “match coverage,” in which defensive backs were responsible for receivers in their quarter of the field. The system lends itself to creating incompletions more than interceptions.
“When you start going for a lot of interceptions in match coverage, your eyes tend to go to the quarterback, and when that happens you tend to lose your guy,” Vrabel said. “So, you have to get interceptions in match coverage from tipped balls, and then the interceptions that you do get, usually that’s going to be in some zone vision and break defense. … When you’re in match coverage, (passes broken up) and not letting your guy catch the ball is pretty important.”
Darrynton Evans, RB, Appalachian State, third round (No. 93)
Notable number: 11
Evans posted runs of 50 yards or better 11 times over the past two seasons. Talk about a home run hitter. That means he averaged a 50-plus yard run once every 40 attempts. Oh, and by the way, he also had three kick returns of 94 yards or better. Titans fans have grown accustomed to watching running backs rip off huge gains over the past couple of seasons, as Derrick Henry has seven career touchdown runs — and two touchdown receptions — of more than 50 yards. Evans should serve as the ideal complement. Can you imagine defenders, tired of hitting Henry, trying to catch Evans — clocked at 4.41 in the 40-yard dash — as he flies through holes?
Notable number: 0
Evans had zero fumbles over his last two seasons, despite touching the football 498 times — 434 rushes, 33 receptions and 31 kick returns. That’s what you call ball security. It’s not as though he was a fumble machine during his freshman season either. He coughed up the ball just once that year.
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“That’s really something I take pride in,” Evans said. “I take care of the ball. Our saying at App State was, ‘Dreams, goals, aspirations.’ That’s what the ball is. If you can’t take care of the rock, you can’t get in the game, so that’s just one area I always focus on before anything else.”
Larrell Murchison, DL, NC State, fifth round (No. 174)
Notable number: 12
Murchison managed to take down opponents 12 times behind the line of scrimmage last season, including a team-high seven sacks. The 6-foot-2, 297-pound Murchison is generally considered more of a run clogger than he is a pass rusher. But he must be doing something right when it comes to getting after the quarterback, as he totaled 11 sacks in his two seasons for the Wolfpack. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler noted Murchison “is quick to shoot gaps with his attacking play style, setting up his pass rush and chasing the action.”
“I feel like rushing the passer I can cause penetration, and I feel like stopping the run I can be an anchor down there if they need me to take on double teams,” Murchison said. “Anything you need me to do, I feel like I can do it.”
Notable number: 4
Murchison played at least 60 snaps at four positions on the defensive line last season. He was over tackle 349 times, outside the tackle 117 times, in the “A” gap (between center and guard) 72 times and in the “B” gap (between guard and tackle) 64 times. Murchison should fit right in on a Titans defense that likes to use multiple fronts.
“That’s what makes me versatile,” Murchison said. “Anywhere among the defensive front where you need me to play, I feel like I can play it.”
Cole McDonald, QB, Hawaii, seventh round (No. 224)
Notable number: 9
McDonald connected on nine completions of 40-plus yards last season, most of any quarterback in the country, per Pro Football Focus. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound McDonald had no problem gripping-and-ripping in Hawaii’s pass-happy offense, throwing the ball effectively to all levels of the field. He threw for a combined 8,032 yards — and 69 TDs — over his final two seasons, and some of his most memorable throws came on passes of 20 yards or more downfield. Per PFF, his passer rating on those attempts (99.4) was better than his rating on throws of 10-20 yards and 0-9 yards. Go figure.
“(McDonald) was somebody that stood out for us at the combine and through our evaluations and our conversations,” Vrabel said. “Our coaches were certainly intrigued by the player. We feel like there’s some skills to develop.”
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Notable number: 14
McDonald threw 14 interceptions last season, tied for sixth-most among FBS quarterbacks. He threw 10 interceptions in 2018. So McDonald was a bit of a boom-or-bust quarterback during his college career, connecting on plenty of big plays but also taking a lot of risks. Per Pro Football Focus, McDonald had the 12th-highest “turnover-worthy play” rate in the country last season, producing 29 such plays. Needless to say, he wants to make fewer mistakes moving forward.
“In terms of what I need to work on, I mean what everybody says, just my big wind up and limiting those mistakes and turnovers,” McDonald said. “Just being a proficient quarterback.”
Chris Jackson, S, Marshall, seventh round (No. 243)
Notable number: 45
Jackson broke up 45 passes during his career at Marshall, tops in school history. Jackson’s total of 52 passes defended — a combination of passes broken up and interceptions (he had seven) — ranks second in school history. He said he hadn’t heard about the motto of the Titans’ secondary — “My Man Catches No Balls” — but he liked it immediately.
“One thing about it, being a DB, is if your guy doesn’t catch the ball and your teammate’s guy doesn’t catch the ball, there’s no way that the other team can beat us,” Jackson said. “That’s a great motto to have and that’s something I’m ready to take on as a challenge.”
Notable number: 13
None of the seventh-round picks by GM Jon Robinson in his four previous drafts has played more than 13 NFL games. Aaron Wallace, the 222nd pick in 2016, is responsible for that number. The games played by the seventh-rounders since — defensive back Kalan Reed (seven), linebacker Josh Carraway (one), tackle Brad Seaton (zero) and running back Khalfani Muhammad (zero). The Titans surrendered their seventh-round draft picks in 2018 and 2019. So does Jackson have what it takes to make a bigger contribution than the other seventh-rounders under Robinson? He has at least three things working for him: speed (4.46 in the 40-yard dash), versatility (experience at cornerback and safety) and extensive special-teams experience.
“If you sign and you’re on the roster and you’re in a team meeting room in front of me, I think our philosophy is that you’re all going to get an opportunity,” Vrabel said. “Some guys may get more opportunities than others, but they’re all going to get opportunities.”
(Top photo of Darrynton Evans: Jeremy Brevard / USA Today Sports)