2015 NFL Draft: Pick By Pick Mock With Tennessee Titans At No. 6

By Rick Stavig @rickstavig on October 30, 2014

The pick-by-pick mock of the 2015 NFL Draft continues and the first five picks are off the board. Leonard Williams (DE/DT, Southern Cal) was picked first by the Oakland Raiders, Marcus Mariota (QB, Oregon) was picked second by the New York Jets, Cedric Ogbuehi (OT, Texas A&M) was picked third by the Jacksonville Jaguars, Amari Cooper (WR, Alabama) was picked fourth by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the polarizing Jameis Winston (QB, FSU) was picked fifth by the St. Louis Rams. With the sixth pick, who do the Tennessee Titans select?

Randy Gregory, DE/OLB, Nebraska.

The Titans made the full switch from an even front to an odd this year and the results have been less than exciting. The team is 16th in passing yards per game (241 ypg), 27th in rushing (134.8 ypg) and tied for 16th in takeaways. While they’ve done an OK job getting sacks, they’re not getting much production at all from their edge rushing OLB’s, the guys who are supposed to putting pressure on the QB darn near every play.

Starters Derrick Morgan (1 sack) and Kamerion Wimbley (2 sacks) aren’t getting it done and backups Shaun Phillips (1 sack) and Quentin Groves (0 sacks) haven’t helped much. Granted, Morgan has done a pretty good job applying pressure overall (8th in the NFL in hurries with 16), but they need more help off the edge to make this scheme run more effectively.

Gregory is an impressive athlete with very good explosion. He has the quick-twitch fibers and natural length and bend to be an elite edge rusher at the next level. He has good size (6-foot 6, 245-pounds), long arms and good lateral range and quickness. He needs to add some good weight and get stronger, but his raw skill set as an edge rusher is as good as anyone who will likely be in the draft. He’s even played some snaps at OLB for Nebraska this year and has looked good so it won’t be a totally new concept for him to play standing up full time.

Also don’t be surprised to see the Titans target an elite young OT like Brandon Scherff (Iowa) to play opposite of impressive rookie Taylor Lewan. Current starter Michael Oher, freshly signed in the offseason to a regrettable $20 million dollar contract, has looked just awful this year and grades out as one of the worst OT’s in the entire league.

And another big position to keep an eye on moving forward is QB. If rookie Zach Mettenberger plays well, the team can focus elsewhere, but if he really starts looking bad the rest of the way, don’t be surprised to see the Titans take a long look at QB with their first pick.

Rick Stavig is an NFL Draft Columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @rickstavig or add him to your network on Google+.