While all of the attention for the Tennessee Titans is on their upcoming playoff contest against the Cincinnati Bengals, it isn’t too early to at least start taking a look at the 2022 NFL draft, which is coming up on April 28.
In his first mock draft of 2022, ESPN’s Mel Kiper has the Titans taking Washington cornerback Kyler Gordon in the first round. Here’s why:
I really liked Caleb Farley in the 2021 class, but a torn ACL ended his season after just two games, and that was after a back injury dropped him to the Titans in Round 1. That injury history is a little scary, which is why the Titans could go with back-to-back first-round corners.
Like his college teammate Trent McDuffie, Gordon has some scheme versatility and the ability to play in the slot as well as outside. He improved a lot in 2021, picking off two passes and breaking up seven throws. He can also tackle, and I think he’ll test well at the combine.
The concerns about Farley are no doubt valid, but we still can’t see the Titans going with another first-round cornerback in 2022, as it would amount to waiving the white flag on the Virginia Tech product after just one year.
That isn’t going to happen and instead the Titans will give Farley more time to show what he can do. At most, maybe the Titans add a cornerback in the later rounds as an insurance policy.
As far as Gordon is concerned, here’s a quick scouting report on him, courtesy of The Draft Network’s Drae Harris:
Kyler Gordon is an exceptional athlete with explosive and dynamic movement. In the run game, he comes up hard when he is the force player in zone. He is an eager participant in the run game and does a good job as a tackler on the perimeter and in space as a core special teamer. In the passing game, he is exceptional. His outstanding agility and quickness in coverage help him stay in phase. From press alignment, he often uses bail technique and closes quickly when he can play with vision. From off man, he can get a little “nosey” with his eyes but obviously trusts his athleticism in these instances. In the NFL, he has the athleticism and hips to be a starting outside corner. However, his tackling ability, instincts, and agility also project him favorably to playing inside, giving him true inside/outside flexibility.
Gordon, who can play both inside and out, already has a connection to the Titans. He shared the same defensive backfield at Washington with Elijah Molden from 2018 through 2020.
