Heading into the Combine, Ole Miss offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil is increasingly looking like the overwhelming favorite to go to the Titans as the first overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft.
All four of NFL.com’s mock drafts have Tunsil going first. The CBS mock draft has Tunsil going first. Mel Kiper’s mock draft has Tunsil going first. Mike Mayock thinks Tunsil is a perfect fit for Tennessee.
“Great feet, long arms, but I don’t know if he’s as strong as Trent,” Mayock told Peter King of TheMMQB.com. “If you’re Tennessee, and you’ve got your franchise quarterback, step two is how you enhance his position, protecting him up front and getting him enough weapons. The one thing I say about the first pick is he better be a good football player on day one, an eight-to-10-year starter barring injury, an alpha male, good in the locker room . . . or you don’t want to take him there. But does Tunsil make sense for Tennessee? Sure he does, and he enhances two positions, because you can move Taylor Lewan to the right side, which is probably a better position for him.”
It’s still more than two months before the draft, and there’s no sure thing right now. The Titans will consider trading down, especially if some team that falls in love with a quarterback offers them a package of picks. But the Titans have identified protecting quarterback Marcus Mariota as their top priority heading into this offseason, and nothing would bolster their pass protection more than drafting Tunsil.