While the focus of the 2010 draft will rightfully be on the first and second day selections, the Titans’ selection of safeties Robert Johnson and Myron Rolle on the third day should be recognized for its foresight.
It’s true the rookies will provide immediate depth behind Chris Hope and Michael Griffin but the hope is that one or both of the newly drafted safeties will become starters.
For some reason, the contracts of Hope, Griffin and Griffin’s backup, nickelback Vincent Fuller, all expire simultaneously, at the end of the 2011 season.
In his take on Tony Brown’s extension, Tom noted the contractual situation of the Titans’ defensive tackles, saying:
“With Brown’s new deal, the Titans now have 4 defensive tackles signed for the next 2 seasons and 3 of them signed for the next 3 seasons. That seems like an unusually stable future, though one with a potentially troubled ending, with the prospect of turning over the top 3 DTs in a single season.”
With a similar situation existing with the safeties, I believe the Titans were proactive by drafting two safeties this year. They displayed foresight by acting now, rather than waiting another year to address the possibility of turning over all of the safeties at the same time. It could result in, as Tom said, a troubled ending.
Drafting Johnson and Rolle could also indicate the Titans realize they may need to replace Griffin and/or Hope even sooner than that. Griffin had a dreadful season last year, prompting me to ask if he was as bad as Lamont Thompson. Hope also struggled last year and will be north of 30 in September.
It’s good to know that for the first time in several years we’ll have some depth at safety, depth that will hopefully be prepared to start in the near future.
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