Mock Check: A Shot of Youth for Defensive Line

With a little more than two weeks to go before the 2020 NFL Draft, the number of mock drafts has increased significantly in recent days.

Friday, SI.com fantasy and gambling columnist Jaime Eisner offered up his projected first round.

Eisner says the Titans are more likely to trade and drop back in the draft but went with the current draft order for his offering.

If they do pick at No. 29, according to Eisner, the odds are that it will be a player on defense. Many mocks these days forecast a cornerback will be Tennessee’s first choice given the free agent departure of long-time backup LeShaun Sims and the fact that Logan Ryan, a starter for the past three seasons, is a free agent who remains unsigned.

Eisner, however, pegged TCU defensive tackle Ross Blacklock, whose college career was on-again, off-again – literally.

Blacklock (6-foot-4, 305 pounds) redshirted as a true freshmen in 2016 and missed all of 2018 with an Achilles injury sustained during preseason camp. In 2017 and 2019, he was a starter whose performance turned heads. He was named a Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America in 2017 and was First-Team All-Big 12 in 2019.

He tied for the team lead with three and a half sacks and was fifth with 40 tackles last season. He had 27 tackles and two sacks as a redshirt-freshman and notched 15 and a half tackles for loss in 26 career games.

Blacklock plays with the kind of consistent competitiveness that undoubtedly appeals to coach Mike Vrabel, and his ability to be productive in the wake of the Achilles injury suggests a commitment to the game that fits with general manager Jon Robinson’s vision.

And the Titans do need some help along the defensive line.

Following the recent trade of Jurrell Casey to Denver, defensive tackle DaQuan Jones is the longest-tenured member of Tennessee’s defense. Between the time the Titans drafted Jones (fourth round, 2014) and last year, when they got Jeffery Simmons in the first round (19 overall), they used just two picks on defensive linemen. One was to select Austin Johnson, who recently signed with the N.Y. Giants. The other was Angelo Blackson (fourth round, 2015), who was released after two seasons and since has been a productive player for Houston.

So, an additional shot of youth on the defensive front is a real possibility. And Blacklock is the kind of player who could form a dynamic pairing with Simmons for several years.