NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Nashville gave the NFL just what it wanted: A party and a spectacle that was fantastic for an estimated 500,000 fans who poured through Music City for the NFL Draft and played beautifully as a television show.

“Outstanding,” said Titans GM Jon Robinson, who saw it only on TV from the Titans' draft room a few miles away and wore a “RSPCT NSHVL” hat at his press conference after his final pick. “It was unbelievable.

“Every time they scanned Broadway, the fans, the crowd – part of the reason why I’m wearing this hat, because I think there’s a respect factor that comes with this city and this state now, because we lived up to the hype.” [Unlocked]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – If you like a high-energy, fly-to-the-ball defender, the Titans sixth-round inside linebacker David Long, Jr. may be for you.

And that he is 5-foot-11 and 227 pounds is of no real concern to Mike Vrabel, who knows a bit about linebacking.

(Photo courtesy West Virginia athletics.)

“The size of linebackers has really diminished over the past 10 years. Most recently it is what is playing in college football,"

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In D’Andre Walker, the Titans finally found an addition to their stable of edge rushers, a position in dire need of additional juice.

Conditioning issues and the degree of his football IQ may have been the reasons that Walker, projected by many to be drafted as high as the second round, fell all the way to the fifth where he picked 168th.

(Photo courtesy Georgia athletics.)

I wrote earlier that the Titans had failed in what appears to be a solid draft to find a true difference-maker at edge rusher, and it’s unlikely they have one in Walker as a fifth-round pick, at least right from the start.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Amani Hooker looks to be a quality football player, and the Titans moved up five spots in the fourth round to get him.

Safety, though, is certainly not the sort of need position that outside linebacker appears to be.

No outside linebacker on the Titans had more than 4.5 sacks last season. Harold Landry is certainly expected to build on that number, and Cameron Wake had 6 in Miami.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – With a six-man draft class on the roster, Jon Robinson’s scouting staff is hard at work on building a quality class of undrafted rookies.

And it’s an area where the team needs to do better.

Sharif Finch looks like a find from last year. He was a contributor from the edge as a rookie.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – When Nate Davis out of Charlotte of Conference USA arrived at the Senior Bowl among players from much bigger schools from much more high-profile conferences, he didn’t flinch.

(Photo courtesy Charlotte athletics.)

“I think it helped me out a ton,” he said. “Just going into Senior Bowl week, you’ve just got to think it’s the same game you’ve been playing since you were 7 years old and don’t psych yourself out.” [Unlocked]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A.J. Brown looks the part and the Titans’ selection at No. 51 fills a big need at wide receiver, a spot where the team’s struggled for its entire existence in Tennessee.

He figures to start opposite Corey Davis in base, with Adam Humphries joining them in the slot when the Titans go three-wide, probably (hopefully?) more often than they have in the past.

(Photo courtesy Ole Miss athletics.)

Brown ran a 4.49 and the Titans say he’s 6-foot-1 and 230 pounds. [Unlocked]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – When Jeffery Simmons is healthy and on the field next to Jurrell Casey, the Titans should have an excellent interior defensive line.

(Photo courtesy of Mississippi State athletics.)

And that could be the key to a change of fortune against the player and the team that Tennessee has to beat in order to go from good to great, which is their theme.