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Mailbag: The echo of Isaiah Wilson, the A.J. Brown rumor, trading back, Tyler Vrabel and more

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Happy Easter weekend to you all.

We'll be the Easter Bunny and unlock this mailbag for all so you've got a nice long, thorough Titans' read for the weekend.

Titans Mural

With no delay, here we go.

Bring it up how Tommy? It's already done here: What's the trust level with the Titans drafting an offensive lineman?

I get the sense you think I am too harsh about it. I’m not.

Totally whiffing on a first-round pick leaves a team chasing for years. If the Titans hadn’t missed on Isaiah Wilson, they wouldn’t have drafted Dillon Radunz in the second-round last year. They don’t know what Radunz is yet, and with Rodger Saffold gone, they need a left guard -- or if Radunz is a left guard, a right tackle again.

If they hit on Wilson and didn’t need a second crack at right tackle just a year later, they could have drafted, say, tight end Pat Freiermuth, who went to Pittsburgh two spots later in the second round.

He caught 60 passes for 497 yards and seven touchdowns for the Steelers as a rookie. Instead, two years later, they still aren’t sure who their starting right tackle is.

I’m not really worried about losing a year of the rookie contract to sitting. If it's a first-round QB you'd still get three cheap years and a fourth (the fifth-year option year) at a lesser cost that a veteran star quarterback price.

But I’m not in favor of the Titans drafting a quarterback this year. There just aren’t good enough options for them who are destined to be better than Ryan Tannehill.

I covered it all here: The case against the Titans drafting a quarterback

Matthew Carver If we don't go WR or OL in the first, what position do you think we take?

Tight end is the third position of need, but there is no tight end worth 26. So in your scenario, Matthew, I would think it would be a trade down.

They could go QB, which is not a scenario I favor as I’ve outlined above. They need better depth at a lot of spots.

Let's look for the weakest spot among the starters or guys who get regular playing time.

Teair Tart started eight of the first nine games at nose tackle. Groin and ankle injuries got in the way from there but he fell behind Naquan Jones. That nose tackle spot doesn’t play a full load of snaps but the Titans can be better there. It's not a first-round spot, though.

So there could be a bit of best player available at work if receiver and offensive line really don’t work out and dealing back doesn’t present itself. I’d think cornerback or pass rusher might be in play then.

Bret Wallace What are some realistic draft expectations? I feel like a lot of the hyped-up receivers will be gone by 26.

Even if the receivers who fit them (never mind hype) do not dry up, I think Zion Johnson of Boston College or Kenyon Green of Texas A&M could be very much in play if they are available.

As I’ve written, I think the evidence shows the Titans don’t like smaller receivers. So Jahan Dotson may have the speed they need, but if they feel like he is going to get knocked off his routes and not be able to win contested catches, I’d expect Tennessee to pass.

DeWayne Gee Why has the AJ trade rumor gained a life of its own? It’s been smashed by JRob and Vrabel, but still it swirls.

I think the Jets really like the idea of trading picks for a No. 1 receiver. Recent trades of Tyreek Hill and Davonte Adams with pending contract issues prompted them to look at where the next round of that could be coming from.

The answer is threefold: D.K. Metcalf, A.J. Brown and Deebo Samuel.

It is truly puzzling why the Titans brass shutting down the idea they want to move Brown has not been enough to shut it down.

Some thoughts: The Jets are doing more talking behind the scenes to people pushing the idea so it’s not going away. The Titans aren’t doing an equal measure of work to fight it off because they don’t care. There are a lot of Jets fans who want it to happen breathing more life/hope into it by discussing it. Brown tweeting about it like it’s wearing on him gives it some life when he’d have been better off ignoring it.

Like to be fired? No, Matthew.

Tim Kelly has been brought in as a support to the offensive coordinator. Mike Vrabel’s fired only a couple of coaches who had actual rank and he’s not going to make a move with a coordinator during the season. I’m sure the Titans have spent a lot of time reviewing 2021 and with some new personnel in Robert Woods and Austin Hooper they feel they can improve on offense like the defense did last season.

Downing had some predictability to his play-calling and didn’t feature his best weapon, Brown, early enough often enough. If those things are obvious to us, they’re obvious to Vrabel who I expect is heading up revisions.

There has been some talk of as early as 2026, though that may optimistic. No deal is in place with the city and no plans are being drawn up yet.

The stadium doesn’t have to wait on the neighborhood they intend to have surround it, but the whole thing is a giant project. But construction for what opened as Adelphia Coliseum started in May 1997 and the first preseason game was played there on Aug. 27, 1999.

Allegiant stadium in Las Vegas took 31 months—two years and seven months.

Ryan Thornton Does JRob trade out of the first to get a second-round pick.

A lot of people are really eager for this, seemingly more interested in the second than the first. 

Quantity over quality of picks can be a good scenario, and while the Titans shouldn't abandon the first based on their record, it's certainly not been great. 

Sure it's a possibility of Jon Robinson finds a willing partner. But I'd be very surprised if it was a pre-draft trade. I think he'll need to be on the clock and looking at who's gone and who's available and what's left on the board for them down the road at where they'd be in the second and wherever else they'd be adding a pick or picks.

Hey General. Dane Brugler is as good a draft analyst as there is. He’s got Tyler Vrabel as his 26th-ranked offensive tackle and sixth priority free agent.

I suspect it’s unlikely he gets drafted but that teams would love to have a player who’s a coach’s kid on the back end of their roster.apple icon 144x144 precomposed

I don’t think Mike Vrabel would recuse himself from scouting him at all, I think he’ll do his best to offer a detached but insightful element of the report. Dad Vrabel told Jim Wyatt he’s really tried to approach things in recent years with Tyler as more of a dad and less of a coach.

That makes me wonder about the family dynamic and if they think it would be good or bad for him to sign with the Titans after the draft. I wonder if Tyler and his family might not think it would be better for him to go elsewhere.

Mike Vrabel and Jon Robinson would obviously be excellent guides with regard to where the best coaching and opportunity would be.

Ethan Jordan Would you rather have hotdogs for fingers or sweat tomato sauce? Explain your reasoning

Third option, please.

Both are gross and would be very difficult to deal with. I’d go tomato-sauce sweat. The fingers would be omnipresent. The sweat would not. I’d towel off a lot. Maybe become more of a cold-weather guy. I’m already not working out, I could sustain that. And so it’s minimized.

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