Tennessee Titans – Three Days Until Draft

With only three days left until the draft, the Tennessee Titans are certainly entertaining offers for their pick with other NFL teams on this day. Those suitors are more than likely San Diego, New York Jets, Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles.

The Titans are in the catbird seat with this pick. All indications are that Jameis Winston will go to Tampa Bay with the first pick. What has not been mentioned however is a scenario where teams that may want to be sure they get Marcus Mariota would go direct to Tampa Bay and make a deal with them for that first round pick. That would throw everything off and the Titans would certainly take Leonard Williams. It is all speculation and great fun at this point.

Most pundits have the Titans selecting Marcus Mariota with that second pick either to keep him, or leverage him into more picks. They say the Titans must come out of this draft with a quarterback to compete with Zach Mettenberger. I say bolster the defense with a talent like Leonard Williams, or if you have to go offense go get Amari Cooper. But not a quarterback. The Titans have too many holes.

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So with three days left, we celebrate the third best first round pick that the Titans have made since moving to Tennessee in 1997. Today we have a tie for that pick. Here they are:

Third Best First Round Pick Of Titans Since Coming To Tennessee is a tie:

Chris Johnson – 24th pick in 2008 Draft

I can remember thinking Chris Who? East Carolina? Are you serious? Then I saw where he posted the fastest 40 in NFL Combine History at 4.24 and was strangely ok with the pick. You can’t coach 4.24.

Johnson never endeared himself to Titans fans. He was fairly stand-offish, shy, or both to media and fans. He was hard to understand when he did say something, and was very rarely seen in public doing deeds in Nashville. But he was loved on the field. He was a guy that you held your breath every time he got the ball. You knew he could take it the distance at any time. So did the opposing defense. There may not have been a more feared presence on the offensive side of the ball than Chris Johnson in his hay day.

Johnson could turn a slight crack into a 90 yard touchdown, and would make other teams defensive backs look like me chasing him. It was no contest. Chris broke out in his second season with 2006 yards. He had an amazing 2509 yards of total offense that season for the Titans. Chris went on to represent the Titans in three Pro Bowls and was the League’s  Offensive Player of the Year in 2009. He was on Madden Football’s cover, and made the Titan’s relevant to many fans outside of Nashville. Chris gave six years to the Titans and never rushed for under 1,000 yards per season. He was released and played with the New York Jets in a limited role last season.

Keith Bulluck – 30th Pick of the 2000 NFL Draft

Keith Bulluck was chosen by the Titans with the 30th pick in the 200 NFL Draft. Again, this was a head scratcher for most of the Tennessee Titans fans. Most fans here are SEC guys and girls, so most weren’t aware that Syracuse had a football team. So who was this guy? Well it did not take long for him to become a favorite.

Bulluck solidified the middle of the Titan defense for 10 years. That is a good enough reason to be number three (or tied for number three) on this list. Bulluck became the starter at middle linebacker for the Titans hard nosed defense in 2002. He made his presence known that season with 99 tackles.

In 2003 Keith gathered 135 total tackles and made it to the Pro Bowl. In 2004 he led the entire NFL in tackles with 152. Keith could take on runners up the middle and he had the speed to go sideline to sideline as well. Keith was also good in pass coverage and had a career best 5 interceptions in 2007. I believe that is still a record for a Titan’s linebacker.

Bulluck was released by the Titans after sustaining an injury after the 2009 season, and played one final season with the New York Giants. He finished with an impressive 1,088 tackles and 21 interceptions for his career. Bulluck was a long time fan favorite and you will still see a few number 53  jerseys from back in the day at LP Field on Sundays.