Georgia CB Kamari Lassiter
If I’m being honest, I think Lassiter is off the board by the time the Titans are picking at No. 38. There isn’t a team in the NFL that wouldn’t stand to get better in the defensive backfield, this is a weaker safety class, and there’s a noticeable drop-off in corner talent after the top seven prospects or so. That gap in talent probably artificially pushes guys like Lassiter or Missouri’s Ennis Rakestraw Jr. up the pecking order a little higher than otherwise.
But if Lassiter does fall into the early second round, the Titans should rejoice. He might not be the ballhawk, or the one with the most tools, but he just plain covers. Of all the FBS cornerbacks who played 400 or more coverage snaps last season, no one allowed a smaller rate of receptions per snap and only one player in the draft class, projected first-round pick Kool-Aid McKinstry, was thrown at more infrequently than Lassiter.
Add in the fact that Lassiter’s 6.62second three-cone drill time was the fastest at the combine regardless of position, showing off his incredible change-of-direction skills and recovery time, and you have yourself a player who just does his job.
Florida State WR Keon Coleman
This is a situation where a below-average combine showing might work out in the Titans’ favor. Coleman didn’t run his 40-yard dash particularly well, leaving the door open for receivers like Adonai Mitchell, Xavier Worthy, Roman Wilson, Troy Franklin, Xavier Legette and Ladd McConkey to at least join Coleman in the WR5 conversation.
Two years of high-level college production trumps a bad 40 time in my book, though. Coleman is a nightmare to cover in the red zone, has unreal hands, played his best games against LSU and Clemson, comes off great in interviews and is all-around just a good receiver. Consider Coleman another player the Titans would be lucky to have fall to them, though it feels more possible now than it would have a couple of weeks ago.
Houston OT Patrick Paul
I’m still a proponent of the Titans using their first-round pick on a left tackle. In the event that doesn’t happen, Paul is someone I like the Titans giving a chance in Round 2.
Seeing him practice and talk at the Senior Bowl and the combine, he projects the right blend of confidence and calm.
He says he wants to be a politician after he’s done playing football, but he’s also an avid boxer.
If that isn’t the kind of duality befitting a technician who can also get nasty, I don’t know what is.
He’s also just really good at blocking. Paul actually graded better as a pass blocker in 2023 than Notre Dame’s Joe Alt did, per Pro Football Focus. In fact, he graded better than any other tackle in the draft class. The only tackle who graded better than Paul in 2022 was Peter Skoronski, the Titans’ 2023 firstround pick.
Grades aren’t everything, just as combine testing isn’t everything, but combining Paul’s grades with his production, size, athletic background and personality profile makes him an intriguing fit.
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com . Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.