General Manager Jon Robinson ready for second draft with Titans

Tennessee Titans GM Jon Robinson enters tonight's opening round of the NFL draft with two picks in the first round.
Tennessee Titans GM Jon Robinson enters tonight's opening round of the NFL draft with two picks in the first round.

SPEAKING FREELY

Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson on the NFL draft:Q: Once the draft starts, how do you stay calm?A: “A bottle of water and a chew of Red Man.”Q: What’s the craziest request you’ve had from a fan?A: “I signed a football one time that looked like it had been sitting in the yard for about three years. It must have had sentimental value or something.”Q: What NFL architect did you most admire growing up?A: “One of the most intriguing ones to me was when Jimmy Johnson made the Herschel Walker trade and the way he built that in Dallas with those players.”Q: Which combine metric do you put the most value in?A: “They all play an important part, but the biggest determining factor may be the medical portion.”Q: What’s your most memorable draft moment?A: “My most exciting experience was probably last year, when we moved back up to take Jack Conklin. That was my first-ever pick as a general manager, and it was a dream realized for Jack, who was a former walk-on at Michigan State.”

Jon Robinson insists he's ready for his second NFL draft as general manager of the Tennessee Titans.

"I've watched 'Draft Day' every night for the last two weeks trying to get geared up," Robinson said Wednesday. "I'm trying to work a trade with Kevin Costner, but he won't call me back."

Robinson was only kidding, of course, but his debut performance last year certainly had the feel of cinematic success.

Owning the No. 1 pick, Robinson traded it to the Los Angeles Rams, who selected California quarterback Jared Goff, in exchange for the Rams' first-round pick last year and this year. The Titans were scheduled to pick 15th a year ago but traded with Cleveland at the No. 8 spot to land Michigan State's Jack Conklin, who made the All-Pro team at right tackle as a rookie.

Tennessee went 9-7 last season and enters tonight's opening round with the Nos. 5 and 18 picks, with the former selection the result of the Rams faltering to a 4-12 mark last year.

"It went just how we planned it last year," Robinson said, sneaking in another joke. "You never know how it's going to shake out when you move for future picks. Fortunately for us, we were able to take that first overall pick and move out of it and accumulate some draft currency. Then we positioned ourselves with Cleveland and moved back up in the top 10 to take Jack Conklin, who had a great year for us.

"We're excited about this weekend. It's an important part of the team-building process. Our scouting staff and coaches have exhausted a lot of time and effort into evaluating these prospects, and we're anxious to get started."

The Titans tripled their win total in their first season under Robinson, who was a guest Wednesday on "Press Row" on Chattanooga's ESPN 105.1 FM. He was hired in January 2016 after working three years as the director of player personnel for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and received the added title of executive vice president earlier this year.

Longtime ESPN analyst Mel Kiper believes Tennessee needs the most help in the secondary, at receiver and at middle linebacker. In his recent three-round mock draft, Kiper had the Titans selecting Alabama inside linebacker Reuben Foster at No. 5 and Crimson Tide cornerback Marlon Humphrey at No. 18.

Kiper had Tennessee selecting North Carolina receiver Mack Hollins 83rd overall and Virginia Tech tight end Bucky Hodges at No. 100.

"There are a lot of corners in this draft who are going to go in the first round, and there are plenty of safeties, too," Kiper said. "I don't think the Titans are going to draft just one defensive back. I think they're going to draft two or three over the seven rounds."

Fellow ESPN analyst Todd McShay said it could be a risk taking a receiver with the No. 5 pick. The top receiving options are Clemson's Mike Williams, Western Michigan's Corey Davis and Washington's John Ross, while Alabama's O.J. Howard could become the first Southeastern Conference tight end selected among the top 20 picks since Kentucky's Tom Hutchinson went ninth overall in 1963.

"You want to give Tennessee more weapons, but I just don't know with Mike Williams," McShay said. "He's great and he's caught everything, but what is going to be his top-end speed? Corey Davis is big like Williams and faster on tape and has really good ball skills as well, but it's tough with that level of competition, because you didn't get to see him against SEC, ACC or even Big Ten cornerbacks.

"I really think Corey Davis will be a good pro, but you're talking about a top-five pick."

Robinson said this week that it's "50-50" as to whether the Titans actually will pick at Nos. 5 and 18. Trading down could help the Titans fill the void that was created when they dealt their second-round selection in the deal to acquire Conklin.

What could be appealing tonight for the Robinson is if none of the top four picks are quarterbacks and a team contacts him about a trade in order to snag one.

"I really like having draft currency," Robinson said. "It gives you flexibility with multiple picks to move up and down the board and position yourself to bolster the roster. As the calls and text messages continue to come, we look at those, because we have a value for every pick to see if it makes sense for us.

"This draft stacks up pretty well for us. I think there is good depth at several positions across the board."

Robinson said he doesn't get nervous about the draft but admits he is anxious to get it started. He went from being the Nicholls State linebackers coach in 2001 to an area scout with the New England Patriots the next year.

He worked his way up to New England's scouting director before leaving for Tampa Bay and admits his excitement for this extravaganza, even if he has to stay focused.

"We take a business approach to it, but it is an exciting time for our fans," he said. "It's an exciting time for us, because we get to add good, young football players to our team. I got in the league in 2002 with the Patriots, and the draft was just two days at that time. Now it's evolved to a red carpet and fancy suits and shoes.

"It's a big-ticket item for the NFL and an exciting time for us."

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.

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