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BBV Community Mock Draft 2011: With The Eighth Pick, Tennessee Selects ...

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - FEBRUARY 28: Defensive lineman Da'Quan Bowers of Clemson looks on during the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 28, 2011 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - FEBRUARY 28: Defensive lineman Da'Quan Bowers of Clemson looks on during the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 28, 2011 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
Getty Images

Da'Quan Bowers, DE, Clemson.

Playing the role of general manager for the Tennessee Titans is 'RealLT.' Here is his rational for the Bowers selection:

So far this offseason, there have been several examples of teams around the NFL going back to the chop shop and gutting old ties to bring in fresh faces and promise for whenever the next football season will be. The Tennessee Titans is not one of these teams. Three years ago, they were the Cinderella story of the AFC South with our old friend Kerry Collins grabbing the reigns from the Vince Young Experiment and leading the oily ones to 13 convincing wins, only to be bounced in the divisional playoffs by the Baltimore Ravens.

The Titans enter this offseason looking quite different from the disappointing 8-8 and 6-10 teams of the past two seasons. Buzz Adams finally decided to let Vince Young loose, as well as main antagonist Jeff Fisher who had coached the team since the Oiler days. His replacement is Mike Munchak, a man who has spent 29 total football years with the Oilers/Titans (12 year career at guard, 17 years with coaching staff). But where exactly will the Titans draft to help this team return to playoff form?

Truth be told, I wanted the Titans pick just to spoil the party for the Cowgirls. This would normally be easy, as Prince Amukamara would be just that pick. He has the potential to be a fantastic all-around corner, which could be considered an area of need as well due to the behavior of talented yet hot-tempered CB Cortland Finnegan. In terms of need, the Titans NEED a QB before operations can continue. Unfortunately, both Gabbert and Newton went early in this draft, and while there are other intriguing QB options (Mallet, Ponder, Locker) none are worthy of a pick at this spot. WR would also be a nice choice to help the upcoming-stud Kenny Britt (especially with the Randy Moss fiasco), but as AJ Green went one spot before and Julio Jones has some injury concerns, that will have to wait as well.

If this were the way the draft were to work out, it seems like an easy pick for the Titans at pick #8: Da’Quan Bowers. It has only been a couple weeks since he was listed as the #1 pick in many mock drafts, but has seen a recent slide with growing knee concerns. Bowers, as some may remember, was just as promising a prospect coming out of high school, voted the consensus No. 1 prospect by ESPN and even being compared to "the closest thing to Reggie White and Bruce Smith" by Rivals.com.


This also serves as filling an area of need for the Titans. DE Jason Babin had a tremendous season for the Titans in 2010 nearly doubling his career sack count with 12.5 sacks on the season. However, he is an unrestricted free agent and most likely will seek another team with the Titans entering rebuilding mode. With Derrick Morgan likely to continue improving, the Bowers pick gives the Titans a nice set of young 4-3 DEs, a very important component in today’s pass-happy NFL offense. As for QBs, just give KC a couple more vodka-cranberries and see if he can’t sling the pigskin for one more year.

My take: Bowers has actually been the No. 1 pick is some mocks I have seen. Hard to argue with taking him here at No. 8. Not that it matters, but ESPN's Mel Kiper also gave the Titans Bowers in his most recent mock.

-- Simms-McConkey is now on the clock with the ninth pick of the draft for the Dallas Cowboys. This one should be fun.

Round 1

Pos Team Player Pos School Drafter
1 Carolina Cam Newton
QB
Auburn
Tito
2 Denver Nick Fairley
DT
Auburn
Mike Fiammetta
3 Buffalo Patrick Peterson
CB
LSU
Bigbluethruandthru
4 Cincinnati Blaine Gabbert
QB
Missouri
BitterEli
5 Arizona Von Miller
OLB
Texas A&M
gmen2thebowl
6 Cleveland Marcell Dareus
DL
Alabama
Bobely
7 San Francisco
A.J. Green
WR
Georgia
Pat19
8 Tennessee Da'Quan Bowers DE
Clemson
RealLT
9 Dallas



Simms-McConkey
10 Washington


jcalafiore
11 Houston



daddyzander
12 Minnesota


RolloT
13 Detroit


BigBlueIntervention
14 St. Louis



GiantNomad
15 Miami



HenneGivenSunday
16 Jacksonville


ct17
17 New England



Ryan Valentine?
18 San Diego



Anthony P
19 N.Y. Giants


Ed Valentine
20 Tampa Bay



willgfass
21 Kansas City



The Blood Of Eli
22 Indianapolis


dannymac56
23 Philadelphia


JimmyK
24 New Orleans



Charles L.
25 Seattle


Ejaay
26 Baltimore


LarrySoprano
27 Atlanta


pataroons
28 New England



Ryan Valentine?
29 Chicago


You're my boy, Blue
30 New York Jets



PlaxicoBurress
31 Pittsburgh


stephen_ross
32 Green Bay



NYG28

Round 2

Pos Team Player Pos School Drafter
33 New England



Ryan Valentine?
34 Buffalo


Bigbluethruandthru
35 Cincinnati


BitterEli
36 Denver



Mike Fiammetta
37 Cleveland


Bobely
38 Arizona



gmen2thebowl
39 Tennessee


RealLT
40 Dallas


Simms-McConkey
41 Washington


jcalafiore
42 Houston


daddyzander
43 Minnesota


RolloT
44 Detroit


BigBlueIntervention
45 San Francisco



Pat19
46 Denver



Mike Fiammetta
47 St. Louis



GiantNomad
48 Oakland


G Fan In England
49 Jacksonville



ct17
50 San Diego



Anthony P
51 Tampa Bay



willgfass
52 N.Y. Giants


Ed Valentine
53 Indianapolis



dannymac56
54 Philadelphia


JImmyK
55 Kansas City



The Blood Of Eli
56 New Orleans



Charles L.
57 Seattle


Ejaay
58 Baltimore


LarrySoprano
59 Atlanta


pataroons
60 New England



Ryan Valentine?
61 San Diego



Anthony P
62 Chicago



You're my boy, Blue
63 Pittsburgh


stephen_ross
64 Green Bay



NYG28