The best pick of the weekend was also the simplest. The Titans watched Ted Hurst slide 38 picks past his grade and did not hesitate. It nets out to a B, which feels about right.
A whole weekend of picks and interior defensive lineman is somehow still a want. They are betting Rutledge proves the room right and everyone else wrong. On the needs board they went 5 of 8, with offensive lineman the one that mattered most.
Adding M.J. Devonshire by trade rounds out the weekend beyond the rookies.
All told, a draft that does its job without fuss, and there is real value in that.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.4
· Pick 4
· David Bailey
· LB-EDGE
· rank 5
They took David Bailey at par in Round 1, Pick 4, which is nothing to complain about. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
R2.25
· Pick 57
· Germie Bernard
· WR
· rank 63
They paid sticker price for Germie Bernard in the 57th overall pick, and that is fine. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
R2.28
· Pick 60
· Anthony Hill Jr.
· LB
· rank 38
They robbed the room for Anthony Hill Jr. here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A need, and now a little less of one.
R3.2
· Pick 66
· Keylan Rutledge
· OG
· rank 79
Keylan Rutledge in pick 66 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
R3.27
· Pick 91
· Mike Washington Jr.
· RB
· rank 72
Steal is underselling it; Mike Washington Jr. at slot 91 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
R4.4
· Pick 104
· Brian Parker II
· C
· rank 110
Brian Parker II at the Round 4 slot is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
R4.26
· Pick 126
· Ted Hurst
· WR
· rank 88
Ted Hurst in No. 126 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. The roster fit checks out.
R5.2
· Pick 142
· Hezekiah Masses
· CB
· rank 139
Nothing to complain about; Hezekiah Masses went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
R5.4
· Pick 144
· Dametrious Crownover
· OT
· rank 145
No drama and no debate, Dametrious Crownover went about where he belonged in No. 144. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
R6.3
· Pick 184
· Keagen Trost
· OT
· rank 186
No edge and no loss on Keagen Trost in the 184th overall pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
R6.13
· Pick 194
· VJ Payne
· S
· rank 200
By-the-book stuff, VJ Payne at Round 6, Pick 13 squarely in line with his ranking. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
R7.9
· Pick 225
· TJ Hall
· CB
· rank 231
A market-rate cornerback, with the board and the slot shaking hands on TJ Hall. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.