Mike Vrabel isn't revealing Titans' draft strategy to his closest football friend
There are plenty of rumors floating around about what the Tennessee Titans may or may not do in the 2022 NFL Draft. Some folks think the Titans are set on taking a quarterback in the first round, while others think Tennessee will look for a wide receiver or an offensive lineman. The only thing we […]
There are plenty of rumors floating around about what the Tennessee Titans may or may not do in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Some folks think the Titans are set on taking a quarterback in the first round, while others think Tennessee will look for a wide receiver or an offensive lineman.
The only thing we know for sure is that no one knows exactly what the Titans are thinking as we await the start of the draft on Thursday evening.
And if you think some of the insiders have an idea, then consider this: not even Titans head coach Mike Vrabel's closest friend in the coaching profession knows what Tennessee is planning on doing in the draft.
Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Luke Fickell spoke to 247Sports recently about the draft. Fickell was specifically asked some questions about Desmond Ridder, the Bearcats quarterback who has been linked to the Titans in recent weeks.
Fickell noted that numerous teams are showing interest in Ridder, before pointing out that he doesn't really trust what he's hearing from coaches/scouts/general managers.
“With smokescreens, nobody trusts anybody," said Fickell to 247Sports. "One of my best friends is in the head coaching profession in the NFL, and I’m not sure he would tip his hand to me."
While Fickell didn't specifically name Vrabel, the close friendship between the two coaches has been well documented over the years. Fickell was famously the best man in Vrabel's wedding (the two coaches played together at Ohio State and later coached together at Ohio State). It seems obvious that Vrabel is the coach he's referring to with his comments.
Now, as far as who will draft Ridder?
That's still a mystery to Fickell.
"I don’t know," said Fickell in response to a question about who will draft Ridder. "People always ask, ‘Who has called the most?’ Probably the one that hasn’t called will be the one that ends up picking him. I don’t know, but I’ve had a lot of communication with a lot of different teams."
The Titans have the No. 26 overall pick in the draft. At this point, every possible scenario — including trading out of the first round — is in play for Tennessee.
Featured image via George Walker IV / Tennessean.com / USA TODAY NETWORK
