The 2024 NFL Draft is now on it's third day! While this event can be over-hyped at times, I still enjoy it. After the suspense of the first round ends, it turns into just a chill event to have on in the background. With the NBA Playoffs, and the MLB season, it's nice to inject some NFL festivities into the mix.
Hopefully this new wave of talent leads the Titans to great success soon!!
The Titans had a top ten pick this year and chose their first player on Friday. While I was sort of hoping/expecting the Titans to select Joe Alt out of Notre Dame I really wasn't too certain. The Titans didn't really get a chance to actually consider taking him anyway, because the Chargers ended up selecting Alt with the fifth pick.
Nevertheless the Titans did not seem to flinch and still stuck to the predictable position choice of an offensive tackle and chose Alabama's J.C. Latham with the seventh overall pick!
I'd say that Latham overall was the second highest rated offensive lineman in this Draft behind Alt, but definitely not by much. I'm sure a few out there may have seen him as the top o-lineman in this draft. I'd say that Latham is probably stronger and maybe less prone to injury in comparison to Alt due to Alt's pretty extreme height.
Latham comes out of Alabama which automatically brings a certain pedigree off the bat. Not only that, but Latham actually went to high school at IMG Academy which also has a very good reputation when it comes to producing professional talent.
Latham's strength appears to be literally strength. Latham is apparently freakishly strong in general and comes equipped with eleven inch paws that defenders often can't escape from. I mentioned Alt may be very tall at nearly 6'9" but Latham himself has plenty of height reaching nearly 6'6". Latham weighs in at a hefty 340 pounds as well. Latham is just a freaking UNIT.
Of course simply being big and strong does not grant you becoming a top ten pick. Latham displays great skill and footwork as well. Latham enters the Draft having just turned 21 in February so he is not even close to his prime even for a rookie. These days some prospects in general can be 23-25 or higher in rare cases.
Even with Latham's young age he's got plenty of experience. He appeared in pretty much every game as a freshman in 2021 and then for the following two seasons he was a starter. No injury history to be found which is outstanding. In 2023 he was First-Team All-SEC.
Hopefully alongside second year guard Peter Skoronski and free agent signee Lloyd Cushenberry, the Titans are on their way to fixing this garbage offensive line!!
The next day the Titans decided to add more sheer mass, this time on the defensive side of the ball, by selecting a decorated and experienced nosetackle out of Texas, T'Vondre Sweat.
Sweat looks like a quality pick to me. The Titans defensive line was supposed to be a strength of the Titans and while it was not terrible in 2023, it did not seem to be as good as I predicted.
Sweat looks like a potentially perfect sidekick for elite defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons. With Sweat in the picture, offensive lineman are going to have some serious decisions to make!
Much like Latham, Sweat is just a refrigerator with legs on the defensive line. He stands comfortably over 6'4" and weighs in at an absurd 360+ pounds!! He ran a 5.27 forty yard dash at that weight! Scary times for offensive lineman and ballcarriers.
Sweat has five years of experience in the Big 12 and finished his college career in a big way posting career highs in sacks, tackles for loss and tackles. He also left Texas with plenty of hardware as he was named First-Team All-Big 12 and a Unanimous All-American. He also was awarded the Big 12 Defensive Player of the year AND won the Outland Trophy!
Sweat is just a skilled, massive, physical dude that will take up a lot of space in those trenches! Hope he can learn a lot from Jeffrey Simmons. Simmons and Sweat in the middle and speedy Arden Key and Harold Landry on the edges, the Titans might be on to something!!
Welcome to the squad J.C. and T'Vondre!!