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How the Titans can take hold of the AFC South with a strong draft

Kamil Krzaczynski / Action Images

Jon Robinson was hired as the Tennessee Titans' general manager on Jan. 14, 2016, inheriting a roster that was among the league's worst.

Circumstances can change dramatically in the modern NFL and in a 15-month span, Robinson has positioned the Titans as a genuine playoff contender ahead of the upcoming season.

The Titans hold the No. 5 and No. 18 picks in this year's draft, and strong selections could angle them past the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts as the divisional favorite. Here's how the Titans can put themselves in position to capture their first AFC South crown since 2008.

Take the best player available at No. 5

There is an element of uncertainty with every draft and anyone who says otherwise is either lying, propagating an agenda on behalf of a team or client, or has somehow erased years of opening-night theatrics from their memory. This year is no different; Myles Garrett is expected to be taken with the first overall pick by the Cleveland Browns, but after that, it's nearly impossible to project how the board will evolve.

Tennessee possesses one particular advantage in that it doesn't need to find its franchise quarterback, as Marcus Mariota has an outside shot of surpassing Andrew Luck as the division's top signal-caller by the end of the 2017 season. With Mariota slated to lead the franchise for the next decade, the Titans can afford to be patient with the No. 5 pick, a notion that bodes well in a draft that boasts the deepest safety cohort in recent memory.

After watching the Browns take Garrett and a flurry of panicked teams reach for a quarterback or another edge rusher, the Titans can stroll to the podium with confidence. LSU's Jamal Adams is considered to be the best safety in years and he's likely to be available with the No. 5 pick; if not, Ohio State's Marshon Lattimore can start immediately at cornerback. Congratulations, Titans fans! Your secondary featuring promising sophomore Kevin Byard just added a player with bona fide All-Pro potential, while your rivals sweat it out.

Trade the No. 18 pick for more selections

Tennessee earned the No. 18 selection after posting a 9-7 mark in 2016, its best record since the 2011 season. It's a rare luxury to be gifted with two first-round picks, but the Titans, who need to slightly tweak a few different positions, should be aiming to accrue as much draft capital as possible.

The last precedent for this trade bodes well for the Titans. During the 2013 draft, the Dallas Cowboys traded down from the No. 18 slot with the San Francisco 49ers, receiving the No. 31 and No. 74 selections. Dallas then used the No. 31 pick on Travis Frederick, who immediately established himself as the NFL's best center, and took a capable receiver in Terrence Williams at No. 74. The 49ers used the No. 18 pick on Eric Reid, who made the Pro Bowl during his first year but hasn't lived up to his reputation since.

None of this is to say that the Titans will luck into an perennial Pro Bowler like Frederick if they trade down, but accruing assets while descending the board can pay dividends. It's a strategy Robinson and Co. should at least consider, and if not, they still have a mid-first-round pick to use at their discretion.

Take risks on Days 2 and 3

After their two first-round selections, the Titans hold only six picks in the latter two days of the draft. If the Titans are absolutely enamored with a prospect when their turn comes up, they should stick to their philosophy. Entering a low-risk, high-reward scenario, however, the Titans ought to swing for the fences and take some calculated risks after the first round concludes.

Robinson is a disciple of Bill Belichick, beginning his career as an area scout for the Patriots in 2002, and eventually ascending through the ranks to become director of college scouting from 2009-2013. Belichick is the master of finding relatively anonymous hidden gems in later rounds, a philosophy Robinson contributed to behind the scenes. The Patriots are the standard to beat, and Robinson would be wise to apply some of the tactics he learned during his apprenticeship and apply to it to the Titans.

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