After trading from No. 1 down to No. 15, the Titans traded up to No. 8. With tackle Laremy Tunsil still on the board, the Titans took tackle Jack Conklin instead. And Conklin now has a deal in place with his first NFL team.
The Titans have announced the Conklin has agreed to terms. He becomes the 19th of 31 first-round picks to work out a rookie contract.
The Titans are one of several teams that eventually could regret passing on Tunsil. Given that many had pegged the Titans as a candidate to take Tunsil with the first pick in the draft, Conklin’s performance will be compared to Tunsil’s throughout the early stages of their careers.
It could be difficult to engage in a true apples-to-apples comparison early in their respective careers. Tunsil is expected to play guard, and Conklin could end up playing right tackle. At some point, though, they’ll both be left tackles. If either or both aren’t, that will essentially be a sign that their teams should have picked someone else.