2012 BGN Community Mock Draft Pick #20: The Tennessee Titans

With the twentieth pick in the 2012 BGN Community Mock Draft, Udalango selects...

Nick Perry: DE, USC

The Titans lost Jim Washburn to the Eagles. It was a huge loss which was made worse by losing their best DE, Jason Babin, who was also scooped up by the Eagles. The Titans had racked up 40 sacks in the 2010 season with those two present. In 2011 that number was only 28, so I am drafting Nick Perry DE from USC.

The 6'3, 271 pound Nick Perry opted for the draft after being named USC's defensive linemen of the year. He recorded 9.5 sacks, 55 total tackles, 13 of which were for a loss, and 2 passes deflected at the line. At the combine he showed nice explosion and speed with a 10 yard time (which applies to DEs much better than a 40 time) of 1.57 seconds and a 38.5 inch vertical. He explodes off the line in the pass rush and has great footwork to keep attacking the passer relentlessly. He has some moves he uses to get around the tackle. At 3:29 of this video, he pulls a very nice spin move on Kelemete. Kelemete looks completely at a loss.

More after the jump...

Rushing the passer is not the only way in which Perry would help the Titans. In 2010 the Titans were great against the run. Opponents averaged only 3.9 yards a carry. In 2011, that number jumped all the way up to 4.5. Perry reads and reacts quickly enough to figure out where he needs to be in the play to stop the ball carrier. He understands leverage, so he is able to get lower than the blocker and get around it to attack the ball. He does a good job not biting on fakes, but sometimes has problems disengaging if he gets beat from the snap.

However, there are a few problems with Perry. Many pundits are saying he is better suited to being a 3-4 OLB, a position in which he has zero experience. He has worked on this by putting on muscle so he would not be undersized anymore. He also has questionable instincts when asked to be in coverage. He is a QB rusher through and through.

The Titans could also use a cornerback and some offensive line help but there were no more first round cornerbacks left and the offensive line could be addressed in later rounds.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1631896

http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/stats/_/name/ten/type/team

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2012/profiles/nick-perry?id=2533048

Next on the clock will be PierreC with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Previous Picks: #1 Andrew Luck, #2 Robert Griffin III, #3 Morris Claiborne, #4 Trent Richardson, #5 Matt Kalil, #6Justin Blackmon, #7 Melvin Ingram, #8 Ryan Tannehill, #9 Michael Floyd, #10 Dre Kirkpatrick, #11 David DeCastro, #12Courtney Upshaw, #13 Luke Kuechly, #14 Fletcher Cox, #15 Quinton Coples, #16 Mark Barron, #17 Stephon Gilmore, #18 Riley Reiff, #19 Janoris Jenkins