NASHVILLE - Coming off their first playoff victory in 14 years, the Tennessee Titans have no obvious holes to be filled in the NFL draft, which starts tonight at the Dallas Cowboys' AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
That gives general manager Jon Robinson lots of options on what to do with the 25th pick in the opening round.
He's working with Mike Vrabel, the first-time head coach who replaced Mike Mularkey in the offseason, to find a way to push the Titans past an ugly rout in the divisional round of the playoffs in January. Tennessee already has all the key pieces in place, though - chiefly quarterback Marcus Mariota - and Robinson used free agency to replace aging veterans such as running back DeMarco Murray, bolster the secondary and add depth on the offensive line.
The Titans' biggest offseason addition was cornerback Malcolm Butler, who received a five-year deal to strengthen the secondary for a passing defense that ranked 25th in the NFL last season by giving up a per-game average of 224.4 yards through the air. He joins a group of defensive backs that includes former New England Patriots teammate Logan Ryan, signed last offseason; Adoree' Jackson, the 18th pick overall in 2017; and safety Kevin Byard, an All-Pro.
"What we wanted to try to do was be able to go into the draft with what we thought was a pretty deep roster," Robinson said. "I think we've got good depth on our roster. We've got good competition really at all the position groups, and hopefully we can add some guys here over the next three, four days to maybe even make that more competitive."
That leaves the man who traded away the No. 1 overall pick in 2016 free to trade up or out of the first round to add to the six selections Tennessee has this draft as the Titans try to improve after consecutive 9-7 seasons that couldn't help Mularkey keep his job despite a wild rally led by Mariota to win at Kansas City in a wild-card game.
The middle of the defense could be an area Tennessee addresses this week, with the draft's second and third rounds Friday and its fourth through seventh rounds Saturday. After tonight, the Titans have picks in the second (57th overall), third (89th), fourth (125th), fifth (162nd) and sixth (199th) rounds.
Tennessee tied for fifth in the NFL last season with 43 sacks, led by Derrick Morgan and Brian Orakpo. But both outside linebackers are going into the final season of their current contracts, and Orakpo, a four-time Pro Bowler, turns 32 near the time training camp opens.
Kevin Dodd, the 33rd pick overall in 2016, was supposed to provide depth, but he has one sack in 18 pro games. Backup Erik Walden was signed last July but has not been brought back.
Quarterback could be an option in the later rounds as the Titans look for a future upgrade to Mariota's backup. Tennessee released veteran Matt Cassel and signed Blaine Gabbert.