Titans 1st pick: DE Carlos Dunlap

The bigger question really is if there are any DEs who are worth the 16th pick. With morgan at the top of many lists and with everyone so impressed with Pierre-Paul's athleticism that choice seems to be between Dulap-Graham-Griffen.

Eliminate Dunlap for character reasons and it is down to Griffen or Graham. Griffen had the best combine and looks like a great size-speed-stength combination but is just not very exciting as a player. Graham seems like the better choice but i was very disappointed he didn't crack a 4.7 40. I was hoping he would run a 4.65. Still graham's perforamce at Michigan and the Senior bowl has to make him the top choice.

There simply are not ANY DEs or OLB with top speed in this draft. No sub 4.6 type guys which is really what we want and need. Graham is certainly big enough to play end in our system at 268 and he lifted 31 times but is he the big speed rush kind of guy we need?

 

Everyone keeps saying Dunlap is a Boom-Bust type prospect but there are 2 sides to that equation. A guy like griffen might be a solid average type guy with low risk as a bust but what other end has more Boom potential then dunlap?

He is 6'5 3/4 277 lbs and had the same 40 time as sergio kindle and almost as fast as hughes. Those are the top "speed" rushers in the draft.

There are posters who say that signing a 30 year old bust like Jason babin is a good thing because Wash will coach him up. Can you imaging this guy after a couple of years with Washburn?

Randy moss had bigger character concerns than Dunlap. Moss was a boom-Bust kind of guy. Moss smoked weed and beat the hell out of a kid in high school. We passed for that reason and got a mediocre player instead in the exact same part of the draft.

I'm not saying Dunlap for sure but sometimes you have to take a risk. The titans will have access to him and can judge if he has the attitude and motivation to be a player and if they like what they hear it would be hard to pass on him.

 

Dunlap high school video.

Literally a man vs boys. Playing DE, DT, OLB and returning kicks.

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I stilll want a CB first. If Haden is available take Haden. If Haden is gone then look at Earl Thomas or Rolando McClain. If both gone then Derrick Morgan. If Morgan is gone then consider Kyle Wilson, JPP, Everson Griffen, and Weatherspoon ALL before Dunlap.

 

I don't understand the fascination with CB. First Hayden isn't a super stud IMO that people make him out to be and he might be slow. Secondly, we have two 2nd year guys that can fight it out for the starting position who might not be that much worse than whoever we could draft. I don't see Cb being as big of a need as DE or OLB and I also don't see the strength of the draft pointing that way at #16.

 

I think you will see Haden run much better at his pro day. I've yet to see any evidence of why McCourty or Mouton deserve a starting shot. Not to say they can't be starters but what makes you so comfortable starting one of them or both? DE/CB are our top priorities with OLB not being as big a need with the Witherspoon signing but I guarantee we take a mid-round OLB for depth rounds 3-4. We need a pass rush so whether that means taking a DE or even DT and sliding JJ outside I don't care just get a pass rush or it doesn't matter who is in our secondary.

 

Um...

There is no guarantee any of the DE's will be gone by our pick (whereas we KNOW Suh and McCoy will be long gone) so why eliminate any of them from consideration? Morgan and Graham are certainly worth it. I also like Hughes. JPP and Griffen have the upside for the pick but they are big boom/bust types since both are MUCH better athletes than football player at this point. Dunlap has a very high ceiling but a guy with his lack of motor and lack of passion drops him out of rnd 1 in my book. How's he supposed to reach his ceiling if he doesn't want to work too hard at it?

You don't NEED to have a 4.5 40 to be a big time pass rusher. MOST of the best pass rushers in the NFL don't run anywhere close to a 4.5. Several of the top DE's ran just over 4.70 which is fast enough. Then it's about your first step, body control, hand usage, balance, ect. We've seen Morgan and Graham be able to beat Bulaga (a probable first rnd pick at LT). Hughes is also a very good pass rusher. Griffen's been able to get pressure because of his size speed but he's very raw. Dunlap seems to get more of his pressure playing DT. Dunlap, unlike the others I've watched a lot, takes quite a few plays off.

Weatherspoon BTW ran a 4.5 on his pro day and Watson ran a 4.5 at the combine so there are some fast LB's. I'd take Weatherspoon with our #16 pick before I'd take Dunlap. I'd also take Kyle Wilson or Earl Thomas before Dunlap...

Gut

 

Um...

Even though I have dropped Haden from being my #1 CB 'til he shows he can run at least in the 4.4's, I can understand why you'd want the best CB in the draft. However, why would you take McClain over Morgan? Our D is built around our pass rush. We currently don't have much pass rush so fixing that (or vastly improving our coverage) is job one.

Just say no to Dunlap!

Gut

 

Well...

Personally, I would NOT take Griffen or JPP with the #16 pick as they are very raw and we won't get much out of them this year. Teams were much more focused on Selvie so JPP should have had an unbelieveable season...but he didn't. Dunlap I wouldn't take in the 1st rnd period even though he certainly has 1st rnd talent and ability - just not the passion or determination.

That leaves Morgan, Graham, Hughes at DE for me. If Haden runs a 4.45 or faster I'd consider him there. I think if Wilson also can run well he's worth taking there. He's only gotten better since the end of his college career (great Senior Bowl practices) and with a good Pro Day, could be the #1 CB.

I think Weatherspoon and McClain are worth the pick but are much less of a need.

The other thing is...at DT, I'd take Suh, McCoy, Price, or Oddrick in rnd 1. Williams and Cody could be selectable for 3-4 teams that need a strong NT.

Keep in mind we also could be staring down an Earl Thomas or Taylor Mays at S as well.

Gut

 

2 me DE and CB are a tie in our biggest need.

Because at DE we have Jacob Ford and William Hayes. Who are both underrated. Plus Sen'Derrick Marks could play DE, and we're trying to sign Babin. So we atleast have starters at DE.

However, at CB we have Finnegan and ___________ starting. Sure we have Mouton and McCourty, but what have they done? They'd provide great depth and both still have potential sure. But who's the 2nd starter???

Depends who's available:
Morgan -> Haden -> Thomas -> JPP -> Griffen -> Kyle Wilson -> Dunlap