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On the cusp of becoming something special, the Tennessee Titans can"t afford to whiff in the 2017 NFL Draft.
The Tennessee Titans' recent draft history is one of plenty of swings and misses, especially in the first round. Even with two picks in the 2017 NFL Draft (Nos. 5 and 18), the Titans can't afford a miss, especially coming off a 9-7 season on which they are looking to build.
This will mark the first time since the team moved from Houston that it has had two first-round picks. The last time the Titans were so fortunate was in 1987, when the team selected running back Alonzo Highsmith third and Haywood Jeffires 20th. While Jeffires became a key member of some very good Oilers teams, Highsmith didn't work out.
He lasted just three seasons in Houston, gaining 1,195 yards in 65 games before moving on to finish his career with Dallas and Tampa Bay.
The Titans have done well in first round of their past three drafts, hitting on offensive tackles Jack Conklin and Taylor Lewan in 2016 and 2014, respectively, and quarterback Marcus Mariota in 2015. But those picks came at eighth (Conklin), second (Mariota) and 11th (Lewan). Those are ones you shouldn't mess up. That, however, is exactly what the Titans did in 2013, when they swung and missed on guard Chance Warmack with the 10th-overall pick.
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Warmack was widely considered the top interior lineman in the 2013 draft. But picking at 10, you'd better get a player who's a difference maker. That means he'd better touch the ball regularly, protect the edge for the people who do touch it regularly, or be very disruptive to the other team's players who touch the ball regularly. A guard does none of that.
To make matters worse, Warmack wasn't very good—certainly not worthy of being a top-10 pick. The Titans declined to pick up the fifth-year option on his rookie contract and Warmack signed a one-year deal as a free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles on March 9.
As bad as the Warmack pick was, however, it pales in comparison to that of quarterback Jake Locker at No. 8 in 2011.
While Locker certainly meets the touch-the-ball-regularly requirement, taking him eighth was a reach. His career completion percentage in college was 53.9 percent. The fact he also went 16-24 as a collegiate starter also should have been a red flag. It wasn't. He lasted just four seasons, started 23 games for the Titans and retired after the 2014 season.
Missing on two picks in the top 10 in a span of three years is exactly how a team continues to have draft picks in the top 10.
The first-round pick sandwiched between Warmack and Locker, receiver Kendall Wright, had his moments with the Titans. But he also left as a free agent this year after back-to-back injury-plagued seasons. Wright was the 20th pick in 2012. And when he followed up a 64-catch rookie season with 94 receptions in 2013, it looked like a solid selection.
But he appeared in just 35 games the past three seasons, leading to the Titans' decision to let him leave. Wright could be considered something of a first-round hit. And a player who makes the kind of early impact Wright did as a rookie wouldn't be a bad thing from the 2017 draft.
This is a team that's ready to compete for a division title. To do that, it will need immediate impacts from both its first-round picks. Thus, they have to be diligent and wise to avoid another Warmack or Locker situation.
