Grading the AFC South's 2019 NFL Draft selections: Titans get an 'A' for outstanding draft

Now that the 2019 NFL Draft has passed and rookie minicamps are beginning to start, many experts and analysts have been handing out their draft grades for each respective division. Of course, we'll never truly know how these players perform until they take center stage in September, once the regular season begins. Here are my personal draft grades for the AFC South.

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#1 Tennessee Titans: A

Round 1: (No. 19 overall) Jeffery Simmons, DT, Mississippi State

Round 2: (51) A.J. Brown, WR, Mississippi

Round 3: (82) Nate Davis, OG, North Carolina-Charlotte

Round 4: (116) Amani Hooker, S, Iowa

Round 5: (168) D'Andre Walker, OLB, Georgia

Round 6: (188) David Long, LB, West Virginia

Analysis:

Enough can't be said about the job that GM Jon Robinson and others did during this draft. Jeffery Simmons would've been long gone, had it not been for an ACL tear several months prior to the draft. If he gets back to being fully healthy, the Titans could have one of the more dominant front sevens in the entire league come 2020.

A.J. Brown is going to be a great complement to Corey Davis. Nate Davis is a unique prospect that has the ability to help stabilize and bring great physicality to a Titans' offensive line in 2019.

Don't sleep on Amani Hooker, who many believe to be a ball-hawking safety waiting for the right opportunity to strike! Meanwhile, D'Andre Walker and David Long add great depth and speed to a very underrated line-backing corps. If all goes well, this draft could easily be a home run for Tennessee!

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#2 Jacksonville Jaguars: A-

Josh Allen

Round 1: (No. 7 overall) Josh Allen, OLB, Kentucky

Round 2: (35) Jawaan Taylor, OT, Florida

Round 3: (69) Josh Oliver, TE, San Jose State; (98) Quincy Williams, LB, Murray State

Round 5: (140) Ryquell Armstead, RB, Temple

Round 6: (178) Gardner Minshew, QB, Washington State

Round 7: (235) Dontavious Russell, DT, Auburn

Analysis:

Jacksonville and their fans in Duval County couldn't have asked for a better start to this draft. Not very often does a top-tier pass rusher like Josh Allen just land in your lap at #7, when most experts didn't expect him to get past the Oakland Raiders at #4.

If that wasn't good enough, how about getting what many considered to be the best offensive tackle in this year's draft, in Florida's Jawaan Taylor, early in the second round? That solves their issue at right tackle. Josh Oliver will help fill a void and be a key contributor at tight end, while Ryquell Armstead should help take some of the load off third-year running back Leonard Fournette.

Gardner Minshew could turn out to be an adequate backup for Nick Foles. I mean, anyone's better than Blake Bortles, right? Too harsh? Yeah, I didn't think so, either. Anyway, Dontavious Russell could very well be in the front-running for one of the starting defensive tackle positions, especially with the departure of Malik Jackson during the offseason. Well done, Jacksonville! This could turn out to be one of your best drafts in years.

#3 Indianapolis Colts: A-

Rock Ya-Sin

Round 2: (No. 34 overall) Rock Ya-Sin, CB, Temple; (49) Ben Banogu, LB, TCU; (59) Parris Campbell, WR, Ohio State

Round 3: (89) Bobby Okereke, LB, Stanford

Round 4: (109) Khari Willis, S, Michigan State

Round 5: (144) Marvell Tell, S, USC; (164) E.J. Speed, LB, Tarleton State

Round 6: (199) Gerri Green, Edge, Mississippi State

Round 7: (240) Jackson Barton, OT, Utah; (246) Javon Patterson, C/OG, Mississippi

Analysis:

Uh Oh, Chris Ballard is up to his old tricks again. Spoiler alert: It works! Based on all of Ballard's selections, you could tell the primary focuses of this draft were speed, depth, and physicality. Let's start with Rock Ya-Sin, who is a physical, man-to-man corner that isn't afraid to get up close and personal with opposing receivers. Literally. Most experts had him going in round 1. Luckily for Indianapolis, Ya-Sin fell right into their laps at the beginning of round 2.

Ben Banogu is a 6'3," freak of nature that's athletic enough to play both defensive end and outside linebacker. I wouldn't be shocked to see him starting alongside Darius Leonard come September.

I can't say enough about how much I love the Parris Campbell selection. He's a gifted individual at the wideout position, who is going to make a living terrorizing opposing secondaries with plays like end-arounds, jet sweeps and anything else that'll complement his 4.31 speed and physical get-off at the line of scrimmage. In other words, he's a faster, bigger and stronger T.Y. Hilton.

Speaking of unique individuals, that's exactly what Indy got with Bobby Okereke and Khari Willis, both of whom bring a great sense of character with unique range and ball instincts. I mean, there's a reason Ballard and company traded up twenty spots in the fourth round to grab Willis.

Marvell Tell has the versatility and explosiveness to play both safety and corner, which should make things interesting come Training Camp. E.J. Speed's name just speaks for itself. He's a yet another athletically gifted linebacker with a high motor and a nose for the ball. Gerri Green is an underrated defensive end who's got great speed coming off the edge. He should compete for a starting roster spot from day 1.

Don't forget about Jackson Barton and Javon Patterson, who only add to the NFL's best offensive line, in terms of sacks allowed last season (18). They both bring great depth and physicality to an already loaded offensive line. Another job well done by Chris Ballard and company!

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#4 Houston Texans: C+

Houston selected Tytus Howard with their first round pick

Round 1: (No. 23 overall) Tytus Howard, OT, Alabama State

Round 2: (54) Lonnie Johnson, CB, Kentucky; (55) Max Scharping, OT, Northern Illinois

Round 3: (86) Kahale Warring, TE, San Diego State

Round 5: (161) Charles Omenihu, DE, Texas

Round 6: (195) Xavier Crawford, CB, Central Michigan

Round 7: (220) Cullen Gillaspia, FB, Texas A&M

Analysis:

This was an interesting draft, to say the least. It pretty much goes without saying that Houston had to make protecting their franchise QB, Deshaun Watson, the sole priority. And well, they did that, sort of. I'm not going to lie, selecting Tytus Howard was a bit of a headscratcher for me, especially when you had players in Cody Ford and Jawaan Taylor, whom many experts ranked well-ahead of Howard, still on the board.

Who knows, though. Maybe GM Brian Gaine sees something that others don't? The addition of Lonnie Johnson is certainly interesting, too. He should pair well with free agent acquisition Bradley Roby. I mean, you have to figure out how to stop T.Y. Hilton (and now Parris Campbell) at some point, right?

Max Scharping needs to work on his techniques a little, but could ultimately win the starting job fairly easily. Let's face it, it's probably not that hard to win any of the five current offensive line positions, especially after the unit in '18 surrendered a league-high 65 sacks. I do like Kahale Warring, who is going to bring great depth and competition to the tight end group.

Charles Omenihu adds great value and physicality to an already stout front seven. Xavier Howard is a name to watch early on through rookie minicamps and training camp. At the very least, he'll bring depth into a secondary that got exposed on several occasions last season for not having enough depth.

Cullen Gillaspia should compete for their starting FB spot right away, as well as provide nice running lanes for Lamar Miller in 2019. Overall, the Texans get a C+, which might even be a little generous if I'm being honest. I'll have to wait and see how everything pans out before I adjust my grade even a little.