Titans add DL Angelo Blackson, FB Jalston Folwer in fourth round

The Tennessee Titans had two of the first nine picks in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL draft and held on to both of them. They used the first pick of the day, 100th overall, on Auburn defensive lineman Angelo Blackson. They used the ninth pick of the round, 108th overall, acquired from the New York Giants in yesterday’s trade back in the second round, on Alabama fullback Jalston Fowler.

I know nothing useful about Angelo Blackson (this will be a theme of picks made today). He played a lot of interior defensive line for the Tigers, though he indicated he believes he projects best as a 5-tech defensive end in the Titans’ scheme (which he probably knows more about than we do, since Ray Horton and Dick LeBeau haven’t clarified what exactly they’ll be doing). He could also play some nose tackle, though the Titans seemed to be relatively happy with Sammy Lee Hill’s play last year and to be looking for more from DaQuan Jones, who could play both end and tackle. Apparently a strong run defender and not a pass rusher. Like Marqueston Huff last year, the teams that liked him had him rated around this value, while some other people (like Lance Zierlein and Dane Brugler) had him more as a borderline draftable player.

Fowler is a fullback. Why do you draft a fullback in the fourth round? Because you really want a fullback and think Fowler is the best player at the position in the draft. That last is the general consensus, so it becomes all about valuing a fullback versus other positions. I wouldn’t have preferred Fowler at the top of the sixth round, which is about where I thought he should have gone, but the Titans will do what the Titans will do. He’s a solid player for what he is, but what’s a player who plays maybe 15% of the snaps on offense and can be a core special teams player really worth, especially when that role seems to be somewhat phased out by teams from the rest of the league?

I’ll be up to some other things during the day, so writeups for future picks may be delayed and abbreviated.