When it comes to the NFL draft, there is an element of luck and timing but there is also a degree of skill in identifying talent and perhaps seeing a diamond in the rough.
Some players that make the step up from college football may be complete natural talents and ready to hit the ground running. However, others may be more raw with huge potential and require more guidance to reach the top. This is where a good eye comes in handy.
Here, we will profile the occasions the Tennessee Titans have got their NFL picks right and reaped the rewards.
Bruce Matthews
Little did sports fans know that when the Titans, known as the Houston Oilers back in 1983, drafted Matthews 40 years ago, the player would go on to make history and write his name into the record books.
Spending his entire American Football career with the same team, Matthews remarkably never missed a game through injury. Appearing in 293 NFL games, the guard is third for most appearances in the all-time list behind quarterbacks Brett Favre and Tom Brady.
Playing in a variety of positions including centre, offensive tackle and long snapper, Matthews impact was such that the Titans retired his number 74 jersey while he was also inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame back in 2007.
Keith Bulluck
Bulluck enjoyed a decade-long spell with the Titans having been drafted in 2000 having played college football for Syracuse Orange.
The linebacker made the AP first-team All-Pro in 2003 and 2007 and also led the NFL for combined tackles in 2004 with 152 that season. What’s more, he also featured in the Pro Bowl in 2003 and is regarded as one of the Titan’s finest picks. A top tackler, he also held the record for the most interceptions for a linebacker in 2007.
Steve McNair
Powerful quarterback McNair joined the Titans in 1995 and was the third overall pick in the first round of the draft.Â
An integral player, he appeared in the playoffs four times with the Titans, helping the team reach the Superbowl in 2000. McNair also featured in the Pro Bowl on three occasions in the early noughties.
The Titans’ leading passer of all-time totalling 27,141 yards, McNair is actually only second to Warren Moon in franchise history.Â
In 2003, McNair was named co-MVP with Peyton Manning and in the same year, became the youngest player in NFL history to pass for 20,000 yards and run for 3,000 yards.
Jevon Kearse
Defensive end Kearse was snapped up by the Titans in 1999 and was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year during his maiden campaign.
Selected for the Pro-Bowl three times during his first three seasons in Tennessee, such was his talent he was nicknamed ‘The Freak’ as his speed, leap and wingspan wowed his coaches.
Kearse spent two separate spells with the Titans either side of four seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and is remembered as one of the most impressive rookie defensive players in recent times.
For NFL fans keen to back the next Kearse, they should conduct thorough research into upcoming stars and assess and compare different platforms via gamblingsites.com to assist in making a sound choice. Bettors should look at college performances and also seek out expert opinion on social media to pinpoint which draft picks could become the stars of tomorrow.
Summing Up
It’s fair to say the Tennessee Titans’ best picks all wrote their names into the team’s folklore for different reasons that will stay with fans for a lifetime. Be it fierce loyalty, astonishing skill or supreme talent, the Titans draft selections listed above really delivered when it mattered.