So the Titans got the ball rolling a few weeks early in the draft season by dealing the #1 overall pick to the Los Angeles Rams. I find it interesting that the trade happened 2 weeks out but that’s great because I wasn’t sure what ESPN and the NFL Network were going to beat into the ground for the next 14 days but now I can plan accordingly. Since the draft is my thing and I’ve had more than a couple of inquires about my thoughts I thought I would share my views on this trade.
The Rams side of the trade; they get #1 overall and a fourth and sixth round pick from Tennessee this year. They are getting skewered quite thoroughly by the talking heads on TV and radio from what I’ve seen and heard. Everyone wants to point out how bad the Robert Griffin III trade ended up for the Redskins a few years ago (ironically the Rams were on the other side in that one) but that’s a lazy interpretation of what’s happening here. The Rams are giving up two 1st round picks, two second round picks and two third round picks but it’s not the same scenario for them. The Redskins mortgaged their future to get RGIII and in doing so they were never able to build a roster around him that could help him compete. Their offensive line was terrible, the defense wasn’t any good and everything was on RGIII’s shoulders. A bad team doesn’t become great because of a new QB but a good team can take a step to greatness with the right QB. The Rams were 7-9 last year with a number of injuries and playing in a division with Seattle and Arizona. They have a cornerstone piece in RB Todd Gurley and a solid offensive line that just needs a little tweak or two. The defense has DE Robert Quinn, DT Aaron Donald and LB Alec Ogletree to build on. The general consensus is that the Rams intend to draft North Dakota St. QB Carson Wentz #1 overall and while it seems a stretch to think he’s going to be some phenom his rookie year he doesn’t need to be. He only has to be better than Nick Foles and Case Keenum were last season and that’s setting the bar pretty low. The Rams roster isn’t lacking talent it’s lacking a decent QB. Wentz isn’t going to be expected to throw for 4000 yards because Jeff Fisher is going to ride a solid defense and Todd Gurley all day long. Wentz is in for a culture shock heading from North Dakota St. to the bright lights of LA but he won’t be standing in the spotlight alone.
The Titans are in the complete opposite situation of the Rams. They have their cornerstone QB to build around in Marcus Mariota but unlike the Rams their roster is bereft of talent. I was a proponent of them drafting Laremy Tunsil to plug in at LT and moving Taylor Lewan to RT to improve their line in front of Mariota but Lewan can handle LT and they still can get a new OT like Jack Conklin or Taylor Decker at #15. Tunsil is good but it is definitely worth going from him to Conklin or Decker when you pick up 2 second rounders, a third rounder this year and a first and third rounder next year. Their offense needs an OT, a WR and probably an interior OL. The Titans defense needs a lot of help (DE, DT, LB, CB and S, did I miss a spot?). New Titans GM Jon Robinson knows that having a great QB is nice but it’s not worth much if he’s working alone. That’s the reason Robinson traded for RB DeMarco Murray and why he made this trade, the Titans need players not a player. If Robinson can draft as well as he’s played the rest of this off season things will be looking up in Tennessee.
The team that may have gotten the shaft here is the Cleveland Browns but only if they wanted Wentz and that isn’t clear at this point. If they really like Jared Goff better than this trade is great news because that means no one is going to be able to trade ahead of them now for Goff. If they wanted Wentz they are SOL. The silver lining maybe if someone else (San Francisco, Philly, NY Jets?) want Goff the price has been set pretty high to move up. One more thought if you are Cleveland. If you’re not set on taking QB you are now in prime position to trade your All-Pro LT Joe Thomas for as many draft picks as you can and you can draft Laremy Tunsil to be your LT for the next decade. Thomas deserves to play for a good team sometime in his career, he is the best LT in the NFL. #freeJoe
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