Tennessee Titans: Re-Grading the Titans' 2018 NFL Draft Class a Year Later
The time has come to play the hindsight game and re-grade the Tennessee Titans' class of rookies from the 2018 NFL Draft. This is a tradition I began when I first started writing about the Titans nearly four years ago, and it remains an offseason favorite of mine. The Titans made this one relatively easy. […]
The time has come to play the hindsight game and re-grade the Tennessee Titans' class of rookies from the 2018 NFL Draft.
This is a tradition I began when I first started writing about the Titans nearly four years ago, and it remains an offseason favorite of mine.
The Titans made this one relatively easy. They drafted just four players last year, and only three of those made the roster.
So, without further adieu, here are grades for the Titans' 2018 draft class a year after the fact.
QB Luke Falk
College: Washington State
Pick: 6th round, 199 overall
Grade: F
It seemed, at first, that the Titans had found a longterm, viable backup quarterback in Luke Falk. Now, he is arguably the worst draft selection the Titans have made during general manager Jon Robinson's tenure.
The Falk pick made some sense when it happened. Falk was a highly productive player in Mike Leach's system at Washington State, and, despite his physical limitations, it looked like he had potential to be a quality stopgap.
As the summer months passed, though, it became clear that Falk was not cut out for the NFL. He struggled to win coaches' favor during Training Camp, and his efforts in the preseason were forgettable, to say the least.
On final cut day, it was a foregone conclusion that the Titans would be moving on from Falk. He was claimed off of waivers by the Dolphins, who still own his rights.
F is the only grade appropriate for a non-seventh round pick who spent 0 days past the preseason with the team that drafted him.
To his credit, Falk did provide the press box with some fodder on gamedays considering how closely his name resembles another four-letter word that starts with F.
He also led to the creation of this gem:
Grades for Dane Cruikshank, Harold Landry, and Rashaan Evans —>
S/ST Dane Cruikshank
College: Arizona
Pick: 5th round, 152 overall
Grade: C+
To his credit, Titans general manager Jon Robinson has always done a good job of finding quality talent in the fifth round. 2016 brought Tajaé Sharpe, a receiver who's played a lot of snaps for the Titans; 20187 brought stud linebacker Jayon Brown and 2018 brought Dane Cruikshank.
Because of the Titans' star power in the secondary, Cruikshank never stood and likely will never stand a chance to become a starter for any reason aside from injury. He managed nonetheless to contribute in multiple ways last season.
Cruikshank's biggest impact as a rookie came on special teams, where he was a key presence for the Titans. He made a lot of plays, showed high levels of effort, and was consistently around the ball.
Most notably, Cruikshank scored the Titans' first receiving touchdown of the season in Week 2, when he hauled in a floater from Kevin Byard and scurried to the endzone for a 66-yard score.
What Cruikshank was not able to do in his rookie season was make any discernable impact on defense. The Titans frequently turned to veteran Kendrick Lewis as their first backup option at safety, leaving Cruikshank few chances to contribute on the backend.
In year two, Cruikshank needs to establish himself as the Titans' primary backup safety. His contributions on special teams give him value, but he has plenty of stepping up to do.
LB Harold Landry
College: Boston College
Pick: 2nd round, 41 overall
Grade: C+
Harold Landry is a bit of a double-edged sword for the Titans. One one hand, he has elite bend and showed plenty of flashes as a rookie. On the other, though, he cost the Titans a third-round draft pick, as they had to trade up to nab his services.
2018 was up and down for Landry. There were times where he showed the traits that made him such an exciting prospect leading up to the 2018 NFL Draft, and then there would times where he would disappear.
The Titans' pass rush as a whole was subpar at best in 2018, and Landry certainly is not free from fault in that regard. He notched 4.5 sacks as a rookie.
With Brian Orakpo retired and Derrick Morgan gone, the Titans will be counting on Landry in a big way next season. He will join forces with free agent signee Cameron Wake to form what the Titans hope will be a productive pass-rushing duo.
Landry will no longer be a backup or pass rush "specialist." He is going to be an every-down player, and it obviously remains to be seen whether he will be able to live up to the billing.
Something that works in Landry's favor is the fact that the player he was most frequently compared to during the pre-draft process last year, Falcons defensive end Vic Beasley, also had less than 5 sacks as a rookie. In year two, Beasley led the league in sacks with 15.5.
The Titans need Landry to make a similar leap forward. They invested a lot in him, and getting a return on that investment could take the Titans defense from good to great.
LB Rashaan Evans
College: Alabama
Pick: 1st round, 22 overall
Grade: B
The start to Rashaan Evan's NFL career was rather rough. He missed a vast majority of the preseason and all of Training Camp with an injury, struggled immensely in his first few regular season games, and garnered criticism for his effort.
Then, things started to turn around. Evans kept his head down and the game started slowing down for him.
By season's end, Evans was a crucial component in the Titans defense. He played with speed and intensity. He became the version of himself that dominated the SEC as an Alabama senior in 2017.
Heading into 2019, Evans and Jayon Brown have a chance to form one of the NFL's most dynamic duos at inside linebacker. The potential of Evans getting a full Training Camp and preseason experience should be very exciting for Titans fans.
In addition to his on-field success, Evans is a great presence in the Titans locker room. He is very intelligent and he's always fun to talk to.
The Titans got a good one in Evans, though two things prevent this grade from being an A for the Titans.
First, inside linebacker just isn't one of the more impactful positions in the NFL. Also, the Titans had to part with a fourth rounder in their trade-up to get Evans.
Cover image: USA Today/Christopher Hanewinckel
